Spider-Man: A Different Web
by NoirValor
Summary: After the events of the Spider-verse, one Spiderman returns to his version of Earth to continue doing what he loves: fighting bad guys and villians, saving the day, and spending quality time with his partner Black Cat. Set in an alternate universe.
1. Arc 1, Chapter 1

**AN: So I have been suffering from Life-has-been-getting-in-my-way version of writers block. I recently attended my first Comic Convention this past weekend as well as reading the whole Spider-verse arc and was inspired to write a One shot. Depending on reaction and review, I may launch this into a full blown story. Anyway this is my first foray into writing fanfiction based of comics. I hope you all enjoy.**

Spiderman: A Different Web

One of the Spidermen left the Inheritors realm through one the many portals that were taking the various Spider Men and women back to their respective continuities. This Spider-Man was dressed in black MK. III Spider Armor with grey highlights. This was the armor he had used to defeat the Sinister Six when Doc Ock tried to accelerate the worlds warming process. This universes version of Peter Parker noticed that most of the other Spiders stuck with the red and blue outfit that he used to wear, with various individual flair. Only a few other versions of "him" wore black outfits.

This Spiderman could understand the sentimentality of that color scheme, it was classic and it sure looked more friendly that his black getup to the good people of New York City. But what he didn't understand as he traveled through the wormhole is why they didn't wear the most recent version of whatever uniform they wore. Maybe they just didn't have the same resources he had. The head researchers at Horizon Labs did have access to cutting edge equipment, mostly because they were the ones that developed it. Spider sense may be able to detect danger, but armor was a better plan for stopping it.

Spider-Man landed on a rooftop in what he recognized as SoHo a few blocks from his apartment. The smell of traffic, unknown food, and unattended to trash wafted up to him. "Oh yeah, it's good to be home." Spider-Man said. The world hopping adventure that he had just returned from had made him yearn for home in a way that was unexpected, mostly because he had never seen entire worlds destroyed before, and that brought a certain appreciation to what he had.

Spider-Man began to pull up the police scanner on the internal Heads-Up-Display (HUD) inside his helmet. While he began to analyze the nearest crimes, figure silently vaulted onto the roof behind the black and grey armored hero. The figured moved quietly with practiced precision. The intruder crept up behind Spider-Man, and then with sudden aggression, leapt and shoulder charged him.

Spider-Man immediately went on the defense from the attack from behind. As he was tackled, he rolled to the side, away from his attacker. The person who was assaulting him was prepared for this though and quickly side stepped over him and mounted him. Spiderman brought his forearms up to defend his head from any attack that might be aimed at his face. A gloved hand shot out and locked around Spider-Man's wrist, and violently pined tem above his head. It was at this point where the masked hero got a good look at the person who was attacking him. Above him was the mischievous grin of Felicia Hardy, better known as her alter ego: Black Cat. Though Spider-Man the mostly good/ sometimes bad fortune to call her his partner and girlfriend.

She was dressed in her iconic black jumpsuit with white fur lined collar that exposed enough cleavage to give most men indecent thoughts. Her white boots also had fur lining, as well as her white gloves that ended in pseudo cat claws. Her White hair was tied back in a pony that trailed down between her shoulder blades.

"Hey Cat." Spider-Man said in the most charming tone he could manage.

"Don't you 'hey cat' me Spider. You're in trouble mister." Black Cat scolded.

"Ugh…what did I do now?" Spider-Man groaned from underneath her.

"You disappeared for the last few days, likely to do some super hero stuff. And You. Didn't. Invite. Me." Cat said and she tapped a finger to Spider-Man's mask with each word to emphasize the point. Long ago, Spider-Man convinced her to stop stealing and start fighting criminals and villains. After some persuasion, they became a crime fighting duo.

Spider-Man wiggled around a little bit to try and break free of her grip, but to no avail. "This is true, but I would have preferred you come along to help out." Spider-Man said, but knew was an outright lie. "How on earth did you know that I came back anyway?"

I saw you walk out of a blue hole that appeared from thin air from your apartment over there." Black Cat said pointing over to a building that Spider-Man recognized as the building that he lived in.

"I don't recall giving you a key." he said trying to turn the tables around on the woman over him.

"Oh no. I'm not the one in trouble here buster. Black Cat said sternly waving a finger in his face, still holding Spider-Man's arms above him.

"All right." He relented. "How can I make it up to you?" Spider-Man knew that this was the only way to get out from under Black Cat, literally, and to prevent her from asking too many questions about what he had been doing.

"There, that wasn't so hard. Was it." Black Cat said victoriously, but not moving.

"C'mon babe." Spider-Man said pleading just a little bit. "What do you want?"

"Simple. Instead of going out crime fighting, you need to spend the night having fun with me." Black Cat said grinning.

Spider-Man gulped a little bit. There was a wide range of thing that Black Cat defined as 'fun'. Even wider once you factored in the things that Felicia also found 'fun'. "What did you have in mind?" he asked a little worried.

Black Cat smiled. "Let's start with something classic". She said as she leaned down next to his ear. "Tag. You're it." She whispered. She then gracefully flipped off of her boyfriend with explosive energy and proceeded to dive over the edge of the building. A laugh of glee was heard as she disappeared towards the street below.

Spider-Man sprang up from off the ground with a smile under his mask. Even though there were far more productive things he could be doing, playing with Black Cat was certainly a lot more fun than getting into an off sided fistfight with a bunch of armed goons and henchmen. Well, not that much more. But Black Cat was a lot more attractive.

Spider-Man sprinted of the roof and dove head first to the ground. Several stories beneath him he saw Black Cat shoot a grapple and attach itself to a building, causing her to swing away at a rapid pace. Spiderman decided to stay above her to keep a bird's eye view on here. Before he could fall any further he shot a web line to an adjacent building and yanked as hard as he could and zipped after the fleeing woman.

As the two flew above the heads of everyone north down a street toward Midtown, Spiderman slowly began to close the distance between himself and her. Even though Black Cat had an advanced knowledge of security systems, and the knowledge and physical ability to defeat them, Spiderman had at advanced knowledge of physics. He knew that all he had to do was get a little closer, then fall and let the gravity take care of the rest.

Just as he was about make his move, Black Cat swerved off into an alleyway. Spider-Man groaned. Alleys were two narrow to swing effectively, and the number of clotheslines, emergency exits, and air conditioning units meant that you needed to be able to twist and vault around stuff. This was perfect for the athletic and gymnastic Black Cat to get away from him.

And that is exactly what happened. Spiderman landed on the ground with a soft 'thud' and began to sprint as fast as he could through the narrow corridor. Meanwhile above him, Black Cat moved fluidly and bounced around like a graceful pinball. She quickly made it out with no difficulty onto an open street, and took off. By the time he reached the mouth of the alley, Spiderman was a little winded. He decided that it was time for a classic maneuver that he used to move in a fast straight line.

The black and grey clad hero shot a web line out of each arm to a wall on opposite sides of each other. Be then began to back up, increasing the tension in the webbing. As he backed up, Spider-Man could feel his arms straining, and Black Cat pulling away. He pulled a little harder, and when he felt his arms were about to explode, jumped off the ground. He was fired out of the ally like a stone out of a slingshot.

Spider-Man's aim was dead on and flew right past Cat. As he did so, he reached out and touched the swinging heroine. "Tag. You're it. he yelled victoriously."

Whenever the two played tag, when the first person got caught, it was up to that person to catch the second by the time they reached the finish point, or some other obvious finish line that was a similar or farther distance. "Swing, swing as fast as you can. You can't catch me, I'm the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man." he taunted in tune with the similar sounding nursery rhyme.

He then blitzed back to his apartment in SoHo as fast as he could. His shoulders ached, his lungs burned, his heart pumped. Normally he was too busy thinking indecent thoughts about Cat to be concerned about winning whenever they played. Tonight though he wanted to win. The only time his concentration broke was as he launched himself off a web line over the top of a building to clear it. In that moment of weightlessness he took a nanosecond to admire the effect the setting sun had over the city.

Then under his mask, his face hardened into grim determination. He quickly arrived back in the place he called home. He swung in through a large bay window and landed in the open area that on one side held a TV and couch and on the other a small kitchen. A small flight of stairs led up to a bedroom and bathroom. Spider-Man took off the two pieces that made up the mask to become Peter Parker, and gazed around his place. He still found it difficult to believe that he lived here as opposed to the studio flat he had for the longest time.

Behind him a small gust of wind came in through the window. He turned around to see Black Cat saunter up to him and stare at him with a small pout.

"Aw. You won." she said in a mock sad tone.

"Don't worry," Peter said reassuringly, "I'm sure you'll win next time." As he walked up to her and gave her a quick kiss.

Black Cat took this moment to grab Peter and kiss him with much more intensity. With on hand she grabbed his upper body, and removed her mask to become Felicia Hardy. "We aren't done yet." She said seductively when they separated.

"What are you talking about?" Peter said confused, clearly missing Felicia's suggestive tone. "I won."

Felicia shook her head. "No. I said that we would _start_ with something classic. Now you have to do something else for me…well to me." She said, leading Peter to the thoughts she was having.

"Ohhhhh."

"Mmmmm." she purred leaning in for another kiss. As she did this she began to unzip her jumpsuit with one hand and push Peter up the stairs to the bedroom with the other. Peter had the far more difficult task of trying to take off his own outfit. The MK. III Spider Armor provided unparalleled protection and technical advantage, but was far more difficult to take off than a spandex suit.

Eventually they made it upstairs and into the bedroom. Felicia wound up pinning Peter to the bed and taking control of the love making. The intensity and passion was noticeable as the room filled with the sounds of heavy erratic breathing, and the scent of bodily fluids. After several rounds of enthusiastic passion that left the sheets moist and tangled, Felicia lay in Peter's arms asleep with a content smile on her face.

"Oh yeah. It's really good to be home." Peter said to himself as he fell asleep with a smile as well.

 **AN: What did you all think? Review please.**


	2. Arc 1, Chapter 2

**AN: This chapter is a little shorter than the last one. Forgive me. I wanted to get something out for you all after the positive response, but have not yet finished creating the story boards for this tale. So I took this opportunity to do some world and history building to establish context. To highlander348, those are good questions. This is my own Spider-Man in an alternate universe outside the 616 continuity. This Spider-Man does not have organic webbing, but the MK III. Spider Armor comes with large bore web shooters designed to take down stronger villains that Spider-Man must deal with, such as Rhino. Black Cat will have all of her regular theft equipment, and athletic skill from the comics, but I am unsure if she will have her 'probability manipulation' (dumb luck) powers. If I need to create a miraculous solution to an impossible situation, they may come up.**

Chapter 2

Peter woke up in the morning as the sun began to reflect of the buildings in the city. Though his bedroom was still in the shadow of larger buildings, the body heat that was emanating off Felicia was enough to keep him warm. He slowly had to extricate himself from her unconscious sleeping grip. Though last night was fun for Peter, he needed to get back to work, and the smell of sex did not present the best image when coming back to work after a few days of not showing up.

Peter grabbed a set out a change of clothes to get into and went and took a quick shower. The hot water, soap, and shampoo went a long wash to washing of the funk of the last few days, mostly from last night. After drying off, Peter went back into the bedroom to change, thankful that Felicia was still asleep. While Peter cared for the woman deeply, she was insatiable at some points, and it had the tendency to interfere with life sometimes. Not that it wasn't fun.

Freshly dressed in jeans and a red tee shirt, Peter when downstairs for a breakfast of cereal with milk. He pulled out his Horizon smartphone and his Avengers Identity Card to check both of his work e-mails. He wasn't surprised to see that co-workers from both sides were asking where he went. He sent an e-mail to Max Modell, his boss at Horizon Labs, explaining that he spent the past few days working at home on a 'Black Box' project. Luckily Peter kept a few partially finished projects around to bring in to work that people didn't know about. To The Avengers, Peter sent an e-mail explaining that he had been drafted into an interdimensional fight against aliens that wanted to exterminate all Spiders. That would make sense to them.

Just as he was finishing up his bowl of cereal, Felicia came down dressed in one of Peter's button down office shirts that was only partial buttoned. She was walking in a seductive manner clearly indicating she wanted to continue last night's activities. "Why didn't you wake me?" Felicia asked in what was a barely innocent manner.

"Uh…you needed sleep?" Peter clumsily suggested, silently cursing her for distracting him.

"You're right, I do need to spend more time in bed. So should you" She said as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders.

"I would love to, but I have to go to work and prove that I'm still alive." Peter said urgently, extricating himself from her embrace.

"Are you suuuure?" asked the white haired seductress with an upward inflection at the end.

"Uh…Yes." Peter said with hardly any confidence. He made his way to the door, and picked up two bags. One was a duffle bag with his Spider Armor, the other was a small bag with a prototype hyper efficient battery based off ARC reactor technology, one of the many 'excuses' that Peter kept around in the event he needed to explain an absence from work after the fact. "I'll be back at like…um…later." he said in a rush as he bolted out the door.

After he left, Felicia stared at the empty space in front of the door with a frown on her face. "Only stuttering and pauses while speaking. I'm losing my touch." she said with some concern.

* * *

Peter Parker walked into work at Horizon Labs with a big smile on his face. Being surrounded by technology and the ability for him to create and advance new technologies was what he had dreamed of doing since he was in high school. Being able to do this, and put his fist into the face of bad guys, was a dream come true for him. The only thing that got in the way was his super alter ego, or his mild mannered one depending on what was going on in his life.

Scientists, researchers, engineers and technicians walked by him a nodded in greeting. Everyone knew that he was one of the few people who was working in the advanced development labs. Some of the people at horizon called it the Magic Kingdom because of the loose rules and seemingly limitless funding that Max Modell put into that department. It really set no limits on what could and could not be accomplished.

Peter walked into his lab and set his duffle bag down in the corner, and set the battery on the table and pulled out a chalk board with more complex math than ninety-nine percent of humans could understand. Shortly afterward Max Modell came in. He was a large man, standing at about six feet with a large waistline. The other immediately obvious feature about him was the bright red hair on his head and face, making up a ponytail, and a mustache and goatee.

"Mr. Parker. What have you been up to these past couple of days?" Max said with his trademark enthusiasm.

"Private project." Peter said as though it explained everything.

"I'm sure that you could have worked here on it. Why do you think we give you guys Black Boxes to put stuff in?" Max asked.

"You remember my first day here?" Peter asked. The first day Peter worked for Horizon, there was an incident that Spider-Man needed to solve, and Peter didn't have time to get dressed into normal cloths, so the entire lab found him blasting music in his underwear as a cover, claiming that it was more comfortable to work in.

"Yes, of course. Quite memorable."

""Yeah, even underwear was too constricting for this project. Didn't need anyone seeing too much of me." Peter lied, hoping that Max would take the bait.

"Ah, well…I appreciate your consideration. But I know that after you take these strange sudden disappearances, you sometimes have new things to show me. That or you've been having Spider-Man field test some of our inventions and have the results."

"Nothing too exciting. Just a battery that should give Stark Technologies a run for their money." Peter said indicating the battery on the table.

"Ah. Well the uses are obvious, but why did you need to leave for this project?" Max asked with curiosity.

"All I had to do was outsmart Tony Stark." Peter said with under stated sarcasm.

"Ahhhh." Max responded with understanding. "Well it's good to have you back. I'll be around later to see what else you have going on."

Peter spent the next few hours making a report to describe how the battery worked, and doing some theoretical equations to possibly increase the rate at which cells divide in a petri dish, allowing for more experiments in various fields. As he slowly began to realize that he needed to brush up on his organic chemistry to complete this project, there was a knock at the door to his lab.

"Come in." Peter shouted without taking his eyes off of the chalkboard.

Felicia pranced in, wearing office attire that was both somehow conservative and sexy. Peter was too engrossed in his work to notice this though as she came up behind him, and kissed him on the cheek.

"Whatcha' workin' on?" She asked.

"I am trying to increase the rate of cellular division in Petri dishes at an exponential rate." Peter explained absent mindedly.

"Mmmm. Talk nerdy to me." Felicia said playfully, while she embraced him from behind.

"Felicia, I know there are many things that you love about me. Me explaining biology isn't one of them." Parker said.

"Mmmm. Depends of what about biology we're talking about." Felicia said in the same playful tone as one of her hands made its way to Peters belt buckle.

"Not at work." He said suddenly, his focus all on her while grabbing her wrist gently. He knew what game she was trying to play.

"But that one time…" she whispered softly into his ear.

"Was one time, and we were changing out of costume." Peter argued. The hero and scientist always forgot that his girlfriend got …eager like this whenever he left unannounced for a few days.

"So all I have to do is set off an alarm and get you into your outfit." She deduced.

"Not what I meant. Why are you here?" he asked hoping to draw her mind away from sex.

"Well even though we spent a lot of time together last night, we didn't do a whole lot of talking, and I wanted to hear what you have been up to. So I was going to get you to take me out to lunch." Felicia explained honestly.

Peter let out a breath, and was thankful that it was somewhat more innocent than it originally seemed. At that moment, another knock came from the door of his lab. "Come in." Peter shouted, thanking whatever deity was looking over him at the moment. Felicia cursed them.

Max walked in to see what was going on. "Ah, Felicia. What a surprise. How are you?" he asked with genuine kindness.

"Very good Max. Thank you for asking." She said as she let go of Peter and walked over to kiss the large man on the cheek. "I'm just here to take him out to lunch." jerking her thumb to indicate Peter.

"Seems like with him working from home, you would have had plenty of time to do that." Max analyzed.

"Oh you know how Peter gets when he's working. Especially when he is in that little attire and he won't pay any attention to me." Felicia said sounding scorned. She knew that the average excuse was when Peter needed to explain an absence from work was he was working naked at home.

"Yes. I could see how that would be frustrating to a young and vivacious woman such as yourself." Max said sympathetically.

"It's okay. Peter would have been here yesterday morning, but I kept him pinned to the bed for a while after he finished with whatever he was working on." she said with a sly grin. "C'mon Peter. You know that I hate to be kept waiting." She said as she walked out of the lab. Peter turned around and he and Max both watched her leave.

"My boy, if I were thirty years younger, you weren't in the picture, and I didn't prefer the company of the male gender, I would try stealing that woman from you." Max said earnestly.

"Don't even need to be younger, Max. You could just use the line 'I own a multi-billion dollar technology company'. She would have payed plenty of attention to you." Peter said.

"How did you to meet again?"

"We kept crossing paths while I worked at the Daily Bugle." Peter said, which was partially true. They first met when Peter was photographing himself as Spider-Man when he first started foiling Black Cat's theft attempts. Peter also met with Felicia when he was photographing some human interest pieces. Eventually after a few weeks of subtle flirting in both roles, Peter managed to figure out Felicia and Black Cat were the same person.

Max grinned. "Peter, you are a brilliant scientist and engineer. But whatever you do, don't let that women get away from you."

"So you're telling me to take a long lunch then?" Peter suggested.

"Fine, but that battery better be ready by the end of the week." Max said as a friendly warning.

"Will do Max." Peter said reassuringly. The battery was ready now, so that meant that he could take it easy this week at Horizon and put in more patrols as Spider-Man. So long as he remembered to actually show Max the battery by the end of the week. It occurred to Peter that it might be a challenge the way Felicia was trying to get his attention these past few hours. And her attempts were succeeding.

 **AN: Don't Worry. Things start to kick up in the next chapter. In the mean time, please review, and let me know what you liked.**


	3. Arc 1, Chapter 3

**AN: So I got a great question about the history of my Marvel AU. To Celgress, I hope this answers you question: It is VERY similar to the 616 universe, except that in the Return of Black Cat story arc these two became a committed couple, and Doc Ock never took over Peter's body. some of your questions (for instance Hobgoblin) will be answered, but they play into my story, and I don't want to ruin my own fiction. Also, I didn't want to overcomplicate the universe with a bunch of history only I will understand. Without further ado, please enjoy.**

Chapter 3

Peter and Felicia sat under the awning of a pleasant little Manhattan bistro that was well known for its lunchtime fare. The proximity to deli's, butchers and farmers marts ensured that food was fresh and the talented cooks inside knew how to bring out the most of the flavor. Felicia ate a Chicken Caesar Salad with the elegant and precise manner that a sophisticated woman would have. Peter tore through an Italian Sandwich that a man with only a half hour lunch break would have, even though he knew he could stretch it out.

Felicia set down the fork she was using to eat and stared at Peter. "You know," she started, "You can breathe."

Peter looked up from his plate and gulped down the wad of food that was in his mouth. "Yeah, but then I'll have to answer the strange questions that you want to ask me about where I've been." He said, knowing that Felicia would keep prying until she got answers. She was as curious as her alter ego's namesake in that sense.

Felicia grinned. "Maybe I just want to flirt with you in public, or get you to commit to an uncomfortable evening with me as an alternative to asking you those questions." She retorted.

"Shoving my face also prevents me from having that conversation." Peter responded and went back to his sandwich.

* * *

Herman Shultz, known to most of the public as The Shocker, hid in an alleyway behind a dumpster with three other men who he worked with on occasion to steal things. They weren't villains like him, with his Vibro-Shock Gauntlets and yellow insulating protective suit. They were just armed robbers with ski masks and Chinese Type 56 Assault Rifles. Yesterday evening they had been approached by a man at The Bar with No Name about a contract heist. This type of work came along from time to time for Shocker who was one of the best safe crackers around. Shocker only really stole things that he could use such as money, or things that he could sell easily such as gold. But contract heists usually gave a large payout because people wanted something that only he could get, or the other person didn't want to get involved in.

The person who didn't want to get directly involved in this case was Wilson Fisk, better known in the underworld as The Kingpin, or at least that is who the man who talked to them said he represented. Shocker signed on without hesitation, and his three colleague's right after. When Fisk was involved, there was money to be made, but a certain level of risk as well. Shocker was okay with risk. It came with the occupation of an armed robber.

What he was being hired to steal was some kind of nano-tech programing software on a computer drive. He was being hired to steal it from Alchemax. This was the type of thing that Shocker had neither the knowledge to understand, nor the tools or ability to make work. But he knew that it was worth a lot of money to a lot of people elsewhere in the world, usually to corporate types and scientists. Shocker figured that he was at the edge of some cooperate espionage and didn't mind that because the money was good.

A call came in on a phone that Shocker had on him. "What is it?" He demanded.

"The van is two blocks away." An observer told him. The representative of Fisk had given Shocker and his crew the route that the Alchemax van would take, so all they had to do was set a trap.

"Time to move." Shocker told the men behind him.

The four men walked out of the ally and into the street calmly. The white armored van with the Alchemax logo on the side approached them at the same pace as the rest of traffic. Upon confirming that it was indeed an Alchemax van, Shocker and his robbers jumped into action. Two of the three robbers got in front of the van and used their Type 56 Rifles to shoot the windshield. Though it didn't penetrate the bulletproof glass, it blinded the driver from the road. Meanwhile Shocker and his last man moved around the back of the now halted vehicle. The yellow clad villain fired his gauntlets on the corners of the rear door to ensure that the hinges were destroyed.

The robber with Shocker pulled the door off, which fell to the ground with a large bang. Shocker jumped inside the rear cab to find a man with security guard outfit and a Remington 870 Shotgun pointed at him. "Stay back." The man said firmly.

Shocker at least gave him points for not panicking. "I've got three more guys with automatic weapons." Shocker said calmly. He then lashed out with his right hand and grabbed the shotgun, sending a massive vibration out of his gauntlet, shattering the weapon into pieces. "And now you're unarmed." He continued. The sound of the front door opening and someone running away screaming. "Without backup." Shocker finished.

The man gulped. "Can you at least knock me out so I don't get into too much trouble and can collect disability?" the man asked with resignation.

Shocker though it over for a moment. "Sure, why not? Ed…" The robber with him hit the security guard in the head with the butt of his rifle, knocking him out cold, and then threw him into the street.

Above the felony in progress, another masked criminal flew above the scene on a high tech glider. "Well, well, well," mused the Hobgoblin. "Hasn't this job just become more interesting?" he asked out loud as he pulled a couple of Pumpkin Bombs from his satchel.

* * *

At the sound of gunfire a few blocks away, Peter pulled out some cash he always had on hand to pay for food when he needed to rush away to save the day. The two dashed into a nearby ally to change out of their mild mannered wear. The minutes that they spent changing was tense and without words as they assumed their new identities. Peter had luckily become accustomed to putting on the heaver armor that was in more pieces. Taking off his civilian clothing to reveal the black body suit he always wore underneath, Peter zipped open his duffle bag to reveal the black/grey MK. III Spider Armor inside. The boots, chest piece, mask, and gauntlets all came on in under two minutes. Felicia, because of her simpler outfit, was ready in half the time.

After hiding their regular clothing, the two crime-fighters flew out of the alley on web lines and grapples at a high velocity moving towards the commotion, which now included the sounds of explosions and maniacal cackling. "Please tell me that's not who I think it is." Spider-Man hoped aloud. At the sight of the orange clad Hobgoblin, he let out a chest full of air. "Oh thank God, it's the less unstable one".

"Thank God I don't have to stare at a purple and green color scheme. That is just horrid." Black Cat remarked. She noticed Spider-Man staring at her. "What. That is just a crime against fashion."

The two landed on a nearby wall and noticed that Hobgoblin was also fighting Shocker and his crew. "All right. Everyone hold on a second." Spider-Man yelled. The crooks all looked to him and his partner. "Now I don't know what you kids are fightin' over, but you are all going to stop right now and go to your rooms at Ryker's." Spider-Man said with as much authority as he could muster knowing that it was helpless.

"Your math is funny there creep." Shocker said. "I count four against three."

"We're not affiliated with that guy." Spider-Man said defensively and pointed to Hobgoblin.

"And you're all alone now." Hobgoblin laughed atop his glider.

Shocker looked around hand noticed that the rest of his crew had been taken out of the fight by the goblin's bombs. His insulated suit had protected him, but not his un-armored allies. "Good help is so hard to find." Shocker grumbled to himself. He then pointed his two fist outward, one at the Goblin and the other at the heroic duo, and fired a blast out of each arm.

Spider-man and Black Cat swung away to avoid damage. "Got a plan?" Black Cat asked.

"You take Goblin. I got Shocker." Spider-Man said firmly.

"Why do I get the creep?" She asked, a little offended.

"He's a thief, you're a former thief. Shockers a self-educated engineer, I'm and engineer. There's more in common." He compared. "We'll each have more to talk about." Spider-Man said in a hurry as he swing kicked Shocker into the back of the armored Alchemax van.

"Fine."

Black Cat then used the same move to kick the Hobgoblin's glider while he was focused on the brawl below. The sudden impact knocked him off and onto the concrete sidewalk below, and the glider into the air, where it deactivated before falling to the ground. Hobgoblin got to his feet with his teeth grinding in anger. Black Cat landed on her feet with a smug, self-satisfied smile.

"I can't believe that he sent the sidekick after me." The villain growled.

"Most men find me wonderful company. And what's with this sidekick business. I see myself as more of a Girl Friday."

"So a female sidekick." Hobgoblin said. He reached into his bag to pull out some spinning razors.

He threw the razors at her with deadly velocity. As they flew through the air, Black Cat dodged them by sidestepping and charging at Hobgoblin. She lashed out with a ferocious kick aimed at his head. Goblin blocked the attack with his forearm and then landed an uppercut into Black Cat's side. Goblin then followed up by dropping a tear gas grenade. Grey Gas quickly filled the space the two combatants occupied. Black Cat began to cough uncontrollably, and her eyes watered so much that she couldn't see.

Another fist flew out of the smoke and hit her again, followed by another. Black Cat was knocked to the ground in pain. She knew that she was losing and needed to escape. From a small pouch she carried on her belt, she dropped a flashbang grenade. A bright, light and a stunning bang erupted from the device, and the heroine back flipped out of the disabling fumes into fresh air. She then fired her grapple into the tear gas, and pulled Hobgoblin out.

"See. Sidekick. Wall crawler knows to watch out for the good stuff." Hobgoblin taunted.

"That's why we're a team." Black Cat retorted. She then fired a grapple near Hobgoblin. The masked villain was expecting that trick and did a quick juke to avoid it.

"Missed me."

"Not what I was aiming at."

Black Cat had attached her grapple to Goblin's Glider and pulled with all her might. The glider flew into the back of the crook and knocked him to the ground. She let out a huff of air as she retracted her signature device, hoping he would stay down. Unfortunately, the Hobgoblin got back up and began to hit a series of buttons on the glider and a warning be began to emanate.

"This job is more eventful right now than they told me it would be." Hobgoblin muttered and began to run away.

"Hey! Stop!" Black Cat shouted.

"Later Sidekick." And the glider detonated with violent force that knocked Black cat to the ground. When she go up from the ground and got over the ringing in her ears she look a good look to see that Hobgoblin had disappeared someway.

* * *

"We'll each have more to talk about." Spider-Man said in a hurry to Black Cat as he swing kicked Shocker into the back of the armored Alchemax van.

"How do you plan to beat me in here?" Shocker asked menacingly.

"I was gonna use your suit to reupholster the interior." The hero joked.

Shocker then struck out with a right cross, left hook combo that was dodged without effort. The yellow crook then struck with his left knee and a right hook. Spiderman dodged the knee, and blocked the hook before launching his counter attack. The black and grey hero fired a right cross, then a low roundhouse kick with his left leg, and finished with a left uppercut. Shocker blocked the cross, but the kick and the uppercut landed.

Shocker let out grunts of pain with each impact and backed up to give himself more room. He then readied his arms to blast Spider-Man. The hero took a direct attack to his chest and was knocked down, but quickly got back up. Though he was a little winded, he wasn't ready to quit by far.

"How did you take a direct hit and get up so quick?" Shocker asked with genuine curiosity and slight worry.

"This has taken a direct hit from Rhino. It's pretty tough." Spider-Man casually explained the armor he was wearing.

"I can deal with that." Shocker said and charged at Spider-Man. He grabbed the hero around the waist and held on tight. Spider-Man above him threw a series of punches into his sides and elbow drops into his back. But the padding on Shockers chest was thicker to protect his organs, so it was like hitting a sponge.

Shocker then let out a battle cry and began to lift Spider-Man off the ground. The villain was going to perform a suplex as so commonly seen in wrestling. It would've slammed Spider-Man into the ground with tremendous force. But the confined space of the back of the armored van caused the wall crawlers feet to stick to the ceiling.

The two combatants looked at each other in a brief moment of amazement as they realized the other was upside-down. Then the brawl continued with each using exclusively using their fists to attack the other. The fight was brief as Spider-Man quickly realized that he could head-butt Shocker in his minimally protected groin, and did just that. Shocker fell to his knees grasping himself, and groaning in pain.

"Sure hope Cat didn't see that. Don't think I can handle her making comments about me 'giving head'" Spider-Man said to no one specifically.

Out of nowhere, a large bang came from outside the van. This caused both the men to turn to the origin of the noise and forget about one another for a moment.

"CAT!" Spider-Man called out with concern.

This outburst caused Shocker to focus first. He quickly grabbed Spider-Man's shoulder and, with every ounce of his strength and a fully charged Vibro-Shock Gauntlet, punched Spider-Man right in the jaw. This caused him to fall to the floor of the van seeing stars.

"This job is more complicated than he told me it would be. Time to go while the gettin' is good." Shocker said to himself, and ran out the back. He ran around the front of the van.

"Boss. Get it." And man in a casual panel van said. It was his observer. The three other guys had already piled in with their rifles and where ready to go.

Shocker jumped right in. "Move it." He demanded, and the van sped away from the crime scene.

When Spider-Man peeled himself off the floor he walked out the back of the van to see Black Cat stumbling around. "What happened to your guy?" he asked.

"Blew up his glider." Black Cat described with disappointment. "You?"

"He punched me in the face really, really, _reallllly_ hard." He said.

Black Cat stared at him in disbelief. "Really?"

"I was distracted by concern for you." Sirens began to be audible in the distance. "C'mon, lets be gone before the boys in blue show up."

The two swung away from the crime scene, knowing that they were not going to be seeing the last of either the Hobgoblin, or the Shocker in the near future.

 **AN: Remember to review. It will make me set a deadline to get more chapters out, and I will work faster when I set deadlines.**


	4. Arc 1, Chapter 4

**AN: So I gonna be honest. There was no writers block that prevented this from coming out in a timely manner. I was just too busy playing video games, watching tv/movies, and reading to care about getting this down on paper. Sorry for the wait folks, but I hope that you all enjoy it.**

Chapter 4

Shocker wasn't known for panicking. He had worries, sure. On a rare occasion he had even been afraid to a certain degree. But panicking was not something that a professional such as him did. However, in his current position, explaining how he had messed up a job for Wilson Fisk, The Kingpin, Shocker felt himself feeling the dark, sinking, feeling that might be panic encroaching on the edge of his mind.

"Explain to me why I shouldn't have you dragged out of my office, and thrown out of my building in the most direct route possible." The Kingpin asked in a veiled threat.

Shocker looked around the office to glance at the lavish surroundings. The large man who was threatening him sat behind a large wooden desk, in a high, leather wingback chair. A bay window displayed the New York City skyline below. A large bookcase full of a variety of leather bound books occupied one wall, while a variety of art, ranging from landscapes to the abstract, occupied the other wall. The Kingpin himself, in his brown suit with salmon button down shirt and tie, waited for an answer.

Shocker decided that his best way out was to be combative. Either it would save his skin, or get him tossed out the windows of the lobby outside the office, which seems to be Kingpin's original idea. "Because you still don't have whatever the hell you wanted out of the back of that truck." Shocker said aggressively.

"I fail to see why your failure to perform should be the reason that I don't admonish you." Kingpin said, making it seem like he was a teacher punishing a student who failed a test.

"Because you didn't reveal that you hired others to steal your thing-a-ma-jig." Shocker said with anger. "I don't pull competition jobs just because you want to hedge your bets."

"What on earth are you talking about?" Kingpin questioned, not breaking is calm demeanor.

"Yeah. That nut Hobgoblin showed, blowin' stuff up. Overheard him say that he was pulling a job." Shocker explained, his tone slightly more calmed. "You're the only person I know who wanted that tech."

"I see." Kingpin got up from the desk and moved around to stand directly in front of the yellow felon. "You are fortunate that I no longer have The Hobgoblin in my employ. I found his schemes…disagreeable with my endeavors."

"How about know?" Shocker questioned with a hint of sarcasm.

Kingpin glared at Shocker. "As it so happens, I am aware of corporate competitors with the means and motive to also attempt to recover the program that I so desire. I accept that I hired you under inaccurate circumstances."

Shocker almost failed to believe that his plan was working out to the degree that it did. "I want double." He knew that he was pushing his luck with that demand.

Kingpin seemed to be doing some math in his head. "I will supply you with the location of the next time that the Alchemax drive will be available, and knowing that there are competitors out there, am willing to pay an additional thirty percent."

"That's a bogus amount." Shocker insinuated.

"Consider that fact that I am giving you a second chance." Kingpin said, implying another subtle threat.

Shocker rolled the idea over in his mind. This job was getting crazy now, and while crazy suited the Hobgoblin, Shocker considered himself more grounded. But money was money, and Kingpin sure had a lot of it. He also had the ability to discredit him as a thief and stick up man if he backed down. It looked like his mouth had wrote a check that he now needed to cash.

"Alright. I'm in."

"Splendid." The Kingpin said with the faintest trace of a smile.

* * *

Hobgoblin crawled up out of the sewer into the drainage cellar of a small warehouse where he stored some of his munitions, explosives, and other instruments that he used in his symphony of destruction. Hobgoblin replaced the manhole cover, gritting his teeth. The entire way back to the warehouse he had been cursing the Black Cat and think of the ways that he would maim and kill her in the next confrontation. But first he needed to let out some steam, and simultaneously cover his ass.

The Hobgoblin walked over to a nearby laptop and turned it on. He then turned on a web chat program to contact the person who hired him to steal the nano-tech program. It turns out, the man had been waiting for him.

"Hobgoblin, we've been waiting for an update." Said a mysterious man in a dark blue suit on the other side of the computer. The man wouldn't look out of place in a bank, or on Wall Street with his tanned features, and his slicked back black hair.

"Well if it isn't my favorite Raxxon Energy suit monkey." Hobgoblin said in an overly friendly tone. "I have a bone to pick with you." He followed up in a much more serious tone.

"What happened?" The man from Raxxon Energy Corporation asked plainly.

"Well you see, I was flying along, preparing myself for an leisurely armed assault on an Alchemax security van full of valuable bit of technology to steal for you all, when out of the blue, the van was hit by The Shocker and some other numbskulls." The villain said sweetly. "Why on earth would another crew be hitting my target?"

"Because you former employer, The Kingpin, also wants the nano-tech program." The Raxxon man said. He was an expert in dealing with people, and knew that bring up the Hobgoblins old boss would sufficiently motivate him to work harder.

"That gelatinous mass always did tend to have his fingers stuck in too many pies."

"Yes. We will not be paying you extra. You assured us that you could acquire the assets for reverse engineering." Raxxon man reasoned. "We will only pay the rest of your fee upon promised delivery."

"Well you happen to be in luck." Hobgoblin said in a sing song voice. "I will take any chance that I can get to hurt the fat man and his little criminal empire."

"Very well. We await further updates." The Raxxon man said in a no non-sense manner.

"Just get me the next time that the program will be out in the open…or semi-open…or you know what, just tell me where it is now. I could use some more excessive violence in my life right now." Hobgoblin rambled on. "Random acts of violence and destruction add zest to life." He finished cheerfully.

"That should be easy enough." The Raxxon representative replied, "Wait for further information." He fished and logged off, making the screen on Hobgoblin's computer go black.

"Huh. Kinda rude if you ask me." Hobgoblin said to himself. "I do hope that Shocker shows up to lose, and that Spider-Man and his ferocious, feline, female partner show up to fight. I need some payback against that insufferable woman in the black bodysuit."

He walked over to a workbench with a canvas tarp covering the surface. He yanked it off to reveal a new glider that was outfitted with missiles and other assorted weaponry. "Hello old friend." Hobgoblin said fondly. "It's good to see you." He pulled out a toolbox from under the bench to work on the glider while humming the theme to Ride of the Valkyries.

* * *

Peter Parker sat on his couch in a t-shirt and sweatpants holding a bag of ice to his jaw and looking at the news on TV. The news crew was on the scene of the fight that had occurred earlier. The in lieu of an actual recording of the robbery, they were running stock footage of The Shocker, Hobgoblin, and Spider-Man with Black Cat. The news team had reached out to Alchemax for comment, and some public relations person had responded with how they were shocked that someone would go to such extreme lengths for some 'rudimentary software' as the guy in the $5,000 suit had described. Peter had translated 'rudimentary' as 'prototype'.

"Look." Peter shouted without taking his eyes off the TV. "We made the headline news."

Felicia walked into the room wearing purple tank top, panties and a bag of ice as well. She held her cooling object to her left side though. She pranced slowly over to the couch and took a seat next to Peter. "What are they saying?" Felicia asked.

"Same as usual. Villains attempt robbery. Spider-Man and Black Cat stop said robbery. Alchemax won't tell anyone what was in the truck." Peter rambled.

"Ugh." Felicia responded with a combination of frustration and disgust.

Peter moved to sprawl along the whole length of the couch and simultaneously pulled his girlfriend on top of him. Peter then changed to station to a science channel (one with actual science and not just reality TV with science factoids). While the narrator explained the discovery of various elements that are in common use of the computer, the two just laid there. Peter gently stroked Felicia hair, enjoying the way she smelt, and felt. This was one of their bigger loses that the two had dealt with, and they both had bruises on their egos to go with the ones on their bodies.

Felicia was the first one to break the silence. Peter figured that it was because she couldn't stand what was on TV. "What do you think was goin' on?"

Peter thoughtfully mulled it over for a minute. "Well, Shocker mentioned something about what went on being a job. But he doesn't steal tech stuff. He goes after money, jewels, gold…you know…stuff you used to like."

Felicia looked up at him grinning. "Still do."

"Anyway. Shocker was probably hired by someone to steal whatever was in that van."

"OK. Who?"

"That's question. Ain't it?" Peter said as he adjusted the bag of ice on his face with a wince. "Ow."

Felicia eyes flashed with concern. "Are you alright?"

"Just got hit in the face. Spider Armor took most of it, but it was a good hook." He said with a grin. "How are you?"

Felicia shrugged. "Could be better." She then lay her head down on Peter's chest. "Better now."

The two lay there for a few more minutes, No longer paying attention to the TV, just think about what may be going on with Shocker, and who was behind him. It was a situation that left them both wondering what they were going to be doing in the future.

"What about the circus freak?" Felicia eventually asked.

"Well ol' Hobbie will steal anything that is valuable, that he can use, or that is dangerous that isn't nailed down. Even then, he would probably just blow the floor and steal the room. So I don't really doubt that he isn't in this for himself."

Felicia's eyes grew wide. "But's he's not."

Peter furrowed his brow. "How do you know?"

"Because." She started. "Right before he got away, he mentioned that the job was more eventful then 'they' said it would be."

Peter dropped the ice away from his face. "Great. More mysteries."

"Yeah." Felicia said in agreement. "Why can't anything be simple with us?"

Peter cracked a big grin. "This pretty easy." He said and gave her a quick kiss.

As he pulled away, he saw that she was smiling as well. "Well, well. Look at you being smooth. You should try that more often."

Peter laughed and held her in his arms.

 **AN: I know that this is a weaker chapter. I wanted to go with straight plot development as opposed to triying to write a flashy scene or witty and clever dialogue. I would love to read what you guys though of it though.**


	5. Arc 1, Chapter 5

**A/N: Annnnd I'm back. First of all, the arbitrary excuse: I have been playing waaaaay to many video games, and been hitting my MMA hobby pretty hard these past few weeks (Yes that pun was intended). Second a big special thanks to highlander348, Celgress, and NeoTyson for faithfully reviewing. It's awesome to know that people are reading and giving feedback. Lastly, a warning, after this chapter, I cranked the story up to an M rating. Not a hard M. But still, viewer discretion advised.**

Chapter 5

Peter woke up to his alarm the next morning. He had his arms wrapped around Felicia who lay facing the other way. She let out a groan of displeasure, indicating that Peter needed to turn off the alarm and get on with his morning routine. Most mornings, Peter was up first to be productive and get a jump on the day. The only time this didn't happen was when the two had sex, and in that case Felicia usually ravaged Peter and he needed the extra sleep. Peter grinned, turned off the alarm, got out of bed, and went to the bathroom that connected to their bedroom. By the time he had reached the doorway, Felicia could be heard snoring quietly, indicating she had fallen asleep again.

The bathroom had a large vanity area with a sink and a marble countertop that housed Felicia's many beauty products. A toilet and walk-in shower occupied different sides of the room. Peter reached into a drawer to pull out a razor and shaving cream, as well as a toothbrush and toothpaste. Ten minutes later he was in the shower, letting the hot water roll over his body in a simple attempt to let his sore injured muscles relax.

While he stood there, he thought how he was going to plan for the next attack from either Shocker or Hobgoblin. Additionally he had to figure out who they were working for. The only way they Peter saw to do this was to figure out what was in the back of that Alchemax van. The only thing that he had been able to determine from the public relations guy on the news was whatever was in the van was some kind of software.

Peter grinned, to the average person, that wasn't much to go on. But Peter was a researcher at a tech company. A few hours reading through scientific journals, Alchemax demonstrations at expos, and computer programming advancements, and he was sure that he could get an idea of what those two thieves were after.

Peter heard the bathroom door open and close, indicating that Felicia was ready to start her day as well. He was just about ready to leave when a soft patter of footsteps came up behind him. A pair of hands grasped him and turned him around.

Peter grinned to see Felicia in front of him ready to use the shower. She wasn't smiling back though, and was glaring at him quite sternly. "Good mon…!" Peter tried to say before Felicia kissed him as hard as she could and forced her tongue into his mouth. She then pushed him up against the wall, grabbed at his back and lifted one of her legs up to his hips.

His brain didn't register what was happing immediately, but luckily his body seemed to as he grabbed her lower back and lifted thigh to support their position. A large portion of blood also was redirected to his lower extremities. Peter's higher thought processes quickly diminished as he fell to the seductions of his girlfriend.

Peter broke away for a second to get air into his lungs and started to grin with self-satisfaction. He readied a joke but Felicia bit down on his right shoulder and clawed at his left and forced him down to the floor of the shower. Felicia was being far rougher than usual with their lovemaking. Peter would certainly define the areas where Felicia was biting and scratching as uncomfortable, and possibly painful. However he was too aroused to really think to stop her though. He was enjoying the overall experience though, so he went with it and pulled her down on top of him.

Felicia still maintained control of the situation though, clawing and lightly biting. She mounted Peter and the two connected. Felicia ground down on Peter, moving back and forth in a rhythm that was neither too quick nor too slow. Peter, for his part, grabbed Felicia's waist and supported whatever movements she made, and kissed her wherever was appropriate on her head when she bent over to kiss or bite him, be it her lips, face, or hair.

After several minutes, the two reached the climax of their interaction and broke apart. They stood up panting, and looked at each other. Felicia now wore a content smile on her face. She reached up to reposition the shower head so that the water fell over the both of them. She then reached over to grab a bottle of body wash and handed it to Peter.

"Would you mind getting my back?" She asked innocently as she then grabbed a bottle of shampoo to wash her hair.

"I'd love to." Peter said. "Anywhere else I can reach?" He asked suggestively. Felicia just gave a vague hum. As she ran her hand through her hair, Peter stood behind her and rubbed the soap solution into her skin. "So what was that, aside from great?" He asked.

"Angry Sex." Felicia said simply.

"I'm sorry?" Peter said in a confused manner. He couldn't recall doing anything wrong.

Felicia turned smiling, her platinum hair pulled over one shoulder. "Don't worry." She kissed him, "You didn't do anything wrong."

"So why?"

Felicia furrowed her brow and flared her nostrils. "Well I want to claw out Hobgoblins eyes. But he's not here right now." She was still extremely angry about losing to the menace. "So I had to find something else that I could claw at." She finished sweetly and kissed him.

"Huh."

"How's your back?" She asked with some concern.

"Feels a little marked up." Peter said, rotating his shoulder and feeling a slight burning sensation on his back.

Felicia tenderly touched the red marks on his shoulders where she had been biting and scratching him.

Peter saw the concern in her eyes, and the he worried that she feared that she may have gone too far. "I rather enjoyed the experience." He said trying to lay her mind at ease. "Just be sure to keep it to that level next time."

Felicia smiled. "Maybe next time you can scratch me." She said seductively.

The two fished their joined shower and finished getting dressed. They met in the kitchen for breakfast. Peter ate a massive bowl of sugary cereal while looking at a research paper on his laptop. Felicia sat with a banana and a cup of yogurt scrolling through the contact list on her phone.

"I've got a plan for our problem." Peter said confidently.

"So do I." Felicia said.

"Oh." Peter said with some surprise.

"Don't give me 'Oh'. Just because you're the genius, and do most of the thinking for us doesn't mean that I don't have to contribute brainpower." She defended.

"All right." He said with his palms up. "What's your idea?"

"Well I can figure out who hired Shocker and maybe what he's after."

"How's that?"

"Well the criminal underworld has a certain level of gossip, if you know how to ask." She said plainly.

"Okaaaaay…" Peter said trying to get more information.

"There are places where crooks and thieves like to be social and they see and hear things. I'm gonna talk to these people." She explained.

"How about what he and Ugly in Orange are after?"

"Well Shocker and I used to have the same fence for stolen merchandise, so that option won't work."

"Wait. You and Captain Underpants used to sell your stolen stuff at the same place?" Peter asked in disbelief.

"As you said, we both like shiny things." Felicia justified. "Anyway, due to Shockers strange sense of honor, his fence and allies won't flip on him and ruin his score. Luckily, The Great Ugly Pumpkin has made it a habit of screwing over people and partners. Lots of people are willing to rat on him to get even."

"Look at you, making jokes about the names of bad guys." Peter noticed with a smile.

Felicia just smiled and shrugged her shoulders.

"All right, so you get to partake in both gossip and vengeance. This is shaping up to be a good day for you, isn't it?" Peter stated.

"A girls gotta have her vengeance sometimes." Felicia said still smiling.

"Hell hath no fury…" Peter quoted.

"So what's your plan?"

"Read through the past two years of Alchemax press releases, industry updates, scientific studies, and research papers. Try to figure out what they have been focusing on. Combine this with finding out who hired Shocker, we can look at what the competitors are focusing on, figure out what was in the back of the van." Peter explained, putting his plan together.

"Well that sounds fascinating." Felicia said with dry sarcasm. "I need to get to calling people. Revenge won't extract itself." She said with venom and malice. Peter wasn't paying attention, already back to his laptop, grinning like a kid on Christmas.

Peter spend the day tapping and clicking away on his computer. Occasionally he would make a remark about how something was brilliant, or clever, or ask an out loud question about the technical specifications of whatever piece of Alchemax equipment. Felicia spent the day talking on the phone with some people who had nicknames like 'Sunny Jim', 'Blob', and 'China'. Additionally, she sometimes introduced herself under aliases such as 'Snow', and 'The Girl'.

This process finally ended when Peter turned the screen of his computer to face Felicia. The screen had a number of windows that had nanotech drones, super computers, and chemical compounds. "I've got a list of the most likely candidates for what may have been in the van." Peter said.

"All right. You show me yours. I'll show you mine." Felicia said.

Peter missed the double entendre. "Alchemax has been focusing most of its work in research on nanotech programing, development of artificial intelligence, and medicine. Now while I tussled with The Dreaded Pincushion, I didn't notice any coolers or biohazard symbols, so we can safely rule out medical stuff." Peter explained. "What do you have?"

"A few people saw Shocker talking with one of Wilson Fisk's agents." Felicia said. "Gave Shocker all the information he needed to pull a heist. Unfortunately, no one knew anything about Hobgoblin. In fact no one knows anything. But this has to help."

"Actually yeah." Peter said. "There is no way that Fisk would trust an AI. Can't control them the same way that he can control people. That means that whatever was in the back of the van involved nano tech. On top of that the news guy last night said that it was some kind of software. So putting this all together, the thing that Shocker and Hobgoblin were after was some king of nano technology software. HAHA. Suck it Sherlock. You're not the only one who can deduce stuff." Peter said with joyful enthusiasm.

"Well the only thing we don't have an idea about then is who hired the goblin." Felicia said.

"Well, the only other two corporations that are looking into nano tech development are Raxxon Energy Corporation, and Stark Industries. Somehow I don't think that my fellow Avenger is hiring international super villains to steal prototype stuff that his company probably already has more advanced versions of. Raxxon might though. This also doesn't include any evil organizations that might be looking into this type of stuff as well such as HYDRA, AIM, or ULTIMATUM. "

Felicia had one last question. "Okay, how exactly are we going to catch the two bad guys with this information?"

Peter just stared at her with a dumbfounded look on his face. "Uhhh…I have no idea. Might have to stake out Alchemax, just wait for them to come back. Break into a Kingpin hideout, get information that way." Peter looked up while pondering. "Figure that out tomorrow."

Felicia groaned. "Can we at least go out tonight? I need to punch some other slime of society if I can't punch that orange menace."

Peter smiled. "I'd love to. Maybe we'll get luck and stumble across Shocker robbing a jewelry store." Peter said hopefully.

 **I want to know what you all think. Too much detail. I wrote the first part of this chapter while listening to Addicted and The Sex is Good by Saving Abel, Jet Black Dress and Breath by Miracle of Sound, Up All Night by Hinder, and the raunchy parts of Nickelback's Dark Horse album. They seemed to set an appropriate mood.**


	6. Arc 1, Chapter 6

**AN: So video games and Netflix have been a major time suck in my life recently. Yeah. Sorry about that.**

Chapter 6

Spider-Man and Black Cat swung through the high rise buildings of Manhattan. The sun had gone down a few hours ago, but the lights from inside the buildings indicated that the night shift was still hard a work making the world spin until the morning. The sounds and bustle of the night life on the streets below could be heard from where the two heroes were above.

The two flew through the city in practiced form. Spider-man was out front on one side of the street, and about 10 meters back on the other side of the street, Black Cat followed behind him. When it was possible, they would run on the roofs of building to give their shoulders, arms, and hands a break. The night so far had been slow, with only a car chase, and a car accident that resulted in needing to take people to the hospital.

Spider-Man decided that the two needed to take break. He pointed out the roof of the building to Black Cat to point out where he intended to go. When he looked behind and saw her nod her understanding, he pulled hard on his webline and yanked himself up to the roof. He landed with a soft thud and looked behind him to see Black Cat land gracefully without sound.

"What's up?" Black Cat asked cheerfully.

"Not much is going on tonight." Spider-Man said crestfallen.

"So what do you want to do?" Black Cat said mimicking his tone.

Spider-Man mulled over a few idea's in his head. Random patrols just produce random results. Shocker was working for Fisk. Hobgoblin is in hiding. The two groups were both going after the same thing. They both had access to some kind of information about Alchemax. Then an epiphany came to him. They would have to get updated information about what they were after. All the two hero's had to do was get the same information from them.

"I have an idea!" Spider-Man said excitedly.

"Well don't leave a girl wondering."

"We can break into one of Kingpin's labs and steal the information on whatever they are trying to take from Alchemax."

Black Cat just stared at him with her mouth open.

"What?" He asked with a quizzical expression on under his mask.

"It's just strange to hear you say that you want to steal information. That's all. Normally I would expect you to ask for information from someone in the Avengers, or at SHEILD." Black Cat shrugged.

"Yeah, I would. The problem is that those groups have all kinds of laws and policies and morals that might keep them from getting information from a legally operating company. I know that Fisk doesn't, and I have no moral qualms stealing from him." He explained.

"You don't have to explain to me. I'm just pleasantly surprised by this decision." She said with a smile. "So what's the plan?"

"First, ask someone in the Avengers or SHEILD where Fisk's current hideout is."

"Ugh." She groaned.

"Hey, somethings don't change." Spider-Man said as he pulled out his Avengers ID card. A quick video chat later with Hawkeye, who was the Avenger on Duty in the tower, and the duo had the location on Fisk's current base of operations.

"You want any help with this issue?" Hawkeye asked after giving Spider-Man the coordinates.

"Nah. Cat and I got it." Spider-Man said casually.

"Please?" The archer begged.

"What's wrong with you?" He asked.

"There hasn't been any major world crises' that need a whole team right now so I'm stuck here answering calls." Hawkeye complained.

"Sorry. Can't help with that. I prefer a stable geopolitical atmosphere." Spider-Man said with cheeky cheerfulness.

"Can you at least have your girlfriend call next time? She's much nicer to look at."

Black Cat overheard this. "How about you make me a full member of the Avengers and I can call whenever you want?" She proposed.

Spider-Man hated when this subject came up. "I'll talk to you later there Robin Hood." Trying to deflect and end further conversation, and turned off the video link on his ID card without giving Hawkeye time to respond.

When he looked up Black Cat was glaring at him. "What?"

"You still don't want me to be an Avenger?" She asked in mock exasperation.

"I just don't want to risk competing with Tony Stark and having you putting your hands all over him." He said in the hope that suggestive humor would distract her.

"Maybe all you need to do then is keep my hands all over you." Felicia responded none too coyly as she walked into Spider-Man personal space to put her hands on his chest.

"Ummm, uh…can we go and break into Fisk's place of illicit business now?" Spider-Man asked in a nervous manner as he backed away and vaulted over the edge of building.

* * *

The coordinates that Hawkeye gave the pair led them to a Fisk Industries subsidiary in Midtown. The building itself was wasn't actually owned by The Kingpin, but a legitimate company that bought, rented out, and sold property and other assets like so many other companies. The labs that belonged to Fisk Industries only occupied five floors. The two vigilantes clung to the windows a few floors up from there.

"What plan do you have Spider?" Black Cat asked with genuine curiosity and enthusiasm. She loved it when the two got to break into places. It was all the fun of her former criminal lifestyle, with all the fun of her current hero lifestyle. The excitement of being caught, with the fun of kicking ass in the name of good.

Spider-Man had been examining the blueprints of the building. "Well, the bottom floor of the labs are just conference rooms, the top floor is executive offices. The middle three floors are labs, likely where we'll find a computer with all of the information on Alchemax that they are holding for competition purposes."

Black Cat already knew how she would break in, but she loved seeing how her boyfriend came up with a plan for a heist. She had plenty of experience breaking into banks, jewelry exchanges, and museums. Spider-Man had far more experience sneaking into secret lairs belonging to super villains. The security systems were similar, except her targets had video surveillance, and high end criminals didn't because it was just visual evidence that the authorities could pick up in a raid. Also, if she tripped an alarm (which she only did on purpose) then it was the cops who would respond and try to take her alive at some point, and it usually gave her a few minutes to escape. When Spider-Man tripped an alarm, henchman responded in seconds, usually trying to kill him.

"Now the weakest point of security isn't going to be on any of those floors." He explained.

"Where is it then?" She asked.

"The law offices that we are outside right now." He said cheerfully. "We break in. Sneak down the elevator shaft, force the door, and start searching the labs."

Black Cat smiled. Spider-Man would have been an incredible thief had he not opted to be the hero he was. It was part of the reason that she found him so alluring. "Well then. This should be fun." Black Cat said smiling brightly.

"Well I know that you have toys to use for this type of situation." Spider-Man said, encouraging her to start.

"No. Toys are used for pleasure. I have accessories." The former thief said proudly. She then pulled a small device from her belt. It was about the size of a marker, and had a similar shape. The base was a small black cylinder, and the rest of the device was an elongated loop of wire. The device an extremely powerful heat coil. Black Cat used it because the average glass break sensor would only detect glass actually breaking. This was to prevent the alarm from going off if the window was opened as they usually are. The heat coil melted the glass gently to make an opening, but cut like any glass cutter.

Black Cat used the heat coil for its intended purpose, and made a hole about three feet in diameter. The two slipped in and found themselves in lavish office of what was likely a partner of some sort. The tempered glass desk sat with expensive pens and an expensive looking clock.

"Never been inside a lawyer's office before. Looks like it pays well." Black Cat said, admiring the expensive decor.

"Only met one. Matt Murdock. Nice Guy." Spider-Man said exiting the office into the lobby.

Black Cat followed him. "Why would you need a lawyer? Was it sexy? Did he 'get you off'?"

Spider-Man walked over to the elevators. "In order. There was a patent dispute for a sensors I designed to analyze wide a spectrum radiation frequency. It was not particularly sexy. Yes, we won our case. I proved I created my sensor free of copyright violations. Mostly because as a scientist, I keep meticulous records of all my work."

"Mmmm. I'm dating a bad boy." Black Cat said with a sexy purr.

Spider-Man forced open the elevator door. "Well J.J. claims that I'm a menace. Seriously though. Let's get the party started." He finished as he started to wall crawl down the elevator shaft.

"Ah. You're no fun sometimes." She groaned and followed him down the shaft.

Spider-Man forced the door open on the floor right below the executive offices. The two infiltrators slipped in and looked around. The hallway they were in was not anything out of ordinary. There was carpet on the floor, and doorways leading to other rooms. The two walked over to a nearby directory on the wall next to the elevator. One conveniently labeled room was 'central system'.

"How did you know that they would be here?" Black Cat asked.

"One in three chance to begin with." Spider-Man said. "But if I were a megalomaniac, I would keep all of the information away from me to keep myself safe from the law, but close enough to have constant access. The nearest lab seems like the best way to do that." He finished explaining.

The two crept along the wall toward the room with the central system. The barely audible sound of padded feet making the only noise. At the end of the hallway, they hung a right down another hall. The moment they rounded the corner, they saw two Fisk Industry security personnel. The khaki body armor and slacks with the white polo shirts presented a strangely professional appearance. As though the two henchmen were trying to say 'I'm here to hurt people, but that doesn't mean I'm a savage.

The two men pulled 9mm Glock 17's from hip holster and began to aim them at the hero's. It was to no avail though as Spider-Man and Black Cat were used to disarming thugs pulling guns. So long as the webline/grapple hit the arm with the gun in it, they could whip the arm away from the intended target, and then disable the attacker. This was the exact case that happened here. The two men with guns were taken out, and rendered immobile by webbing to prevent them from interfering further.

"Well that was exciting." Black Cat said.

"Yep. Now I get to play with encrypted computer data." Spider-Man said in an excited tone.

The two grabbed a security badge off one of the now unconscious guards and opened the door. "Glad those guys were here." Black Cat said. "It takes my lock cracking program a lot slower."

Spider-Man wasn't paying attention though. After plugging in a USB cord that connected to his Avengers ID, he started typing furiously away at a keyboard attached to a monitor. "Allrighty then, I'm downloading the memory, but just at a glimpse, whatever The Kingpin sent Shocker after is now at Alchemax's Roosevelt Island facility."

"That's enough to start. Let's get going." Black Cat said.

The download finished less than a minute later. Spider-Man unplugged the USB cord and put his ID card away. Just then an alarm started to blare throughout the room.

"You're in for it now!" came a voice from the other side of the door.

"Well, apparently one of didn't hit their guy hard enough." Spider-Man said. "And now our exit is going to be far more interesting."

Black Cat was smiling. "And now I get to punch people."

 **AN: So the next chapter is going to get a bit...violent. Not bloody per say. But there will be bruises and broken bones.**


	7. Arc 1, Chapter 7

**AN: First of all, Happy Holidays to everyone. I hope that you get to spend time relaxing with friends and family over the next few weeks during whatever secular or religious holiday applies to you. Secondly, I** **received my first Fan Fiction request this past week from a gentlemen named mrhawkprime. While I am honored that someone thinks I am up to the challenge, sadly I barely have enough time to write my own Fiction, so I will not do doing this. But I encourage mrhawkprime and others like him to write. You never know if the story idea you have is the one others would love to read. I personally though his idea was interesting and would love to see it happen, but I can't do it justice because I don't have the time to ensure proper quality. As a final note, I listened to the reviews from Chapter Five. Your welcome.**

Chapter 7

Spider-Man and Black Cat walked out of the central control room. One of the guards that they though they knocked out had wiggled his way across the floor like a caterpillar. The determined guard had worked his have over to the wall, propped himself up and was talking into an intercom of some sort.

"They just left the central MMMPH!" The guard was cut off as a wad of webbing wound up over his mouth.

"Time to go." Spider-Man said with urgent worry as he ran down the hall.

Just as the pair approached the lobby where the elevators resided, six more of the khaki clad security personnel stormed out of the elevators. These ones were armed with MP5 Submachine Guns, a weapon known around the world for its small size, but high stopping power. The Fisk Industries guards got in a line so they could safely fire their weapons and aimed at the intruders.

Spider-Man stopped running and held his hands up in the world wide known position of surrender. "Could you gentlemen help me? I'm attempting to make off with information about your corporate espionage practices and need direction to the exit." He said with cheerful sarcasm.

"Put your hands on your head, and get down on your knees!" shouted a visibly older man, likely the one in charge. "Were taking you to Fisk."

"Oh wait. You're bad guys!" Spider-Man said in the same tone as before. "You know what to do babe."

Black Cat had been appearing to hide behind her partner. In reality she had been pulling out two of her most practical and useful tools. A flashbang and smoke grenade. Spider-Man's mass of grey and black armor, as well as the non-stop movements of his mouth kept the focus of the armed gunmen on him, while she prepared their escape. When Spider-Man have the word, she tossed the flashbang to blind and disorient their foes, and then the smoke grenade to conceal them from sight.

Groans from the armed men were heard as the two jumped up and clung to the ceiling. Something that was unexpected though was what happened afterward. The average thug and gangster would unload an entire magazine into the smoke the moment that their vision returned. This time though it played out differently.

"Hold fire." The voice belong to the older man who was giving the commands.

Two shots then rang through the smoke filled hallway. Slowly the older man and two of the younger guys worked their way through the smoke to where Spider-Man and Black Cat had been standing. The two heroes waited until they were above the trio and then they made their move. Spider-Man and Black Cat used their webbing and bolo grapple to attempt to immobilize the three gunmen. The two younger men were caught, but the old guy rolled away backward.

"10 meters, 12 o'clock, on the ceiling." He called out. The other three men with MP5's advanced into the smoke in a wedge formation. The three fired at the ceiling, semi-automatic fire indicating a level of discipline above that of a street level crook.

Spider-Man launched on the offensive, leaping off of the roof, twisting and landing in front of one of the gunmen. The hero stuck out with a right side cross, and followed it up with a left side straight knee, before finally finishing with a right elbow to his temple. The man he was fighting was knocked unconscious and fell to the ground with a thud.

Next to him Black Cat attacked in a far more graceful manner. First she somersaulted down as well. Then she sprayed some mace into the face of another young guard. She then knocked him out by launching a high roundhouse kick into the head. The lower part of her shin connected with a resounding 'slam', and the guard fell over.

The last two guards, the old man and a guard with long black hair, backed away into the smoke. They re-aimed their weapons at the heroes. This time they just open fired. A series of simultaneous bangs erupted from behind the wall of smoke that still hung heavy in the hallway.

Spider-Man tackled Black Cat to ground. The 9mm rounds from the MP5's passed over their heads. "We need to get away from them." Spider-Man demanded. While lying on the ground, he began to pull himself along with his hands and push along with his feet. This allowed him to stay below the hail of gun fire. Black Cat also pushed her way along behind the Spider.

Eventually they worked their way around the corner and got up. "So we won't be going out that way?" Black Cat asked even though she knew the answer.

"Nope. Gonna have to use the stairs." Spider-Man said. The two ran down the hallway. It was away from the gunmen and the central system. As they approached the end, the two saw a doorway they indicated that it led to a stairwell.

"Thank god for fire code's" Spider-Man said. He shoulder charged through the doorway, and began to run up the stairs to the executive offices.

"Why are we going this way?" Black Cat asked.

"Fastest way out, fights will break stuff along the way." He explained.

The two burst through the door to the executive offices. As they moved through the doorway, they were greeted with a sight that they did not expect. Standing in front of them was a men they both knew and despised. The Kingpin.

"Well if it isn't the two most infuriating vigilantes in the city." The Kingpin said with calm malice.

"Kingpin!" Spider-Man said with over-the-top cheer. "How's your health? You look like you've put on some weight."

"I would recommend my personal trainer, but she isn't taking any new clients." Black Cat said with mock concern.

"Yes. She must be good. You've gained two pounds. It's fat developing around your thighs." Kingpin said, his analytical skills shining through.

Black Cat wore a look of shock on her face. "It's the holidays." She defended.

Kingpin stared at the two of them. "I look forward to reliving you of what you stole from me." He said as he dropped all 330 lbs. of his considerable mass into a fighter's stance.

Spider-Man knew that this was going to be rough getting through him. He decided that it would be best to tried to use speed to get around him. He began to sprint down the hall. Kingpin held his ground though. Spider-man jumped into the air, rebounded off the wall and tried to pass over the criminal lords shoulder.

Despite his immense size, the Kingpin was able to move extremely quick, and managed to grab the fly super hero in the middle of his jump, and threw him back down the hallway toward Black Cat.

"How'd that work, being on top?" She asked as he pulled himself off the ground.

"Not the time. I'll hit him high, you hit him low." Spider-Man groaned.

The two ran down the hall again. This time together. The Kingpin drew his right fist back and prepared to strike. It was not the first time he had tussled with numerous foes. Spider-Man was used to struggling with large villains such as the Rhino though, so he was just as prepared to fight.

Spider-Man shot a webline and caught the right fist of the Kingpin. He then jumped over his left shoulder and yanked the webbing as hard as he could, causing the big man to punch himself in the face. Below, Black Cat slid below and tied up the Kingpins feet with another bolo grapple from her arsenal. Spider-Man then pulled a few more times on the webline.

"Stop hittin' yourself. Stop hittin' yourself."

Kingpin then reached up with his left hand to rip the webbing off of his right. "You caterwauling imbecile."

Spider-Man jumped onto the back of Kingpin and pushed off to do a backflip. The force caused Kingpin to trip because of his tied up feet. He fell down with a resounding crash.

"And Humpty Dumpty had a great fall." Spider-Man said and turned around to see Black Cat looking around.

"So we escaped a hit squad and knocked down the fat man. How are we getting out?" She asked.

"You won't get out. As we speak, my security will be forming on the floor above and below us. You won't escape." Kingpin said, working his massive hands around the cables binding his legs.

Spider-Man webbed them up to keep him from escaping. Then shot a wad of the goop over his mouth to keep him from talking. "We've already beat you. You don't get to do the super villain monologue right now. Save that for when were strapped to a table or something."

"Oh. There's something you can do to me later. Or maybe I can do to you." Felicia said suggestively.

Kingpin groaned through the webbing covering his mouth.

"I know, she never turns it off." The hero said to the villain sympathetically as he looked down. "It is one on the reasons I like her though."

"So what's your plan to get out?" Black Cat asked as Spider-Man walked into a nearby office.

The office housed a desk, chair, file cabinet, and a window that ran the length of the room. Spider-Man walked over to the high-back office chair behind the desk, and moved it around to test the weight. He then picked it up and threw it through the window to the rooftop across the street that was a few stories below. "I'm just gonna go out the window." He said plainly, and jumped out to start swinging away.

* * *

The heroes were back a Peter's apartment in SoHo. Peter had plugged in the drive that they had copied from Kingpin's computer system into Peter's own. A progress bar has been filling painfully slow, and wasn't speeding up. The two sat on the couch in more relaxed clothing. Peter wore a white tee shirt and plain boxers, while Felicia wore a black nightgown with a plunging neckline and an exposed back.

"Alright. I disconnected the computer from the network, so it won't signal any Fisk Industries systems when it finishes decrypting." Peter explained.

"How long will that take?" Felicia asked, biting her lower lip.

"Won't be done until morning." Peter said.

"Good." She said. And before Peter could react, Felicia moved over to sit on his lap, legs on both sides, and started kissing him. She reached to the hem of her boyfriend's shirt and pulled it over his head, and threw it away before kissing down on his neck.

Peter knew where this was going. The heist, the fact that he had been missing while fighting the Inheritors, the fighting. All of these things excited Felicia, and she was probably turned on like a lightbulb. "You wanna move this to the bedroom?" He asked.

"No. Right here. Right now." She demanded.

Peter complied, continuing to kiss and lick at Felicia's ample and exposed cleavage. The kissing continued on for a few more minutes before Felicia removed the nightgown and simultaneously Peter removed his boxers. Now unencumbered, the two proceeded at Felicia's direction and control.

She moved up and down as she held Peter's head to her chest. She ran her fingers through his hair and was sure to use her hands to guide his other movements as she wanted. Peter followed her direction, thrusting at a matching rhythm to keep with the intensity and enthusiasm. The movements continued until the release of orgasm caused their muscles to slow down and relax.

"Well that was…" Peter started.

"Not enough." Felicia finished with a smile still on her face. She dismounted Peter, pulled him off the couch, and led him to the bedroom.

An hour later, after more enthusiastic and passionate lovemaking, Felicia collapsed on top of Peter. The sweat shining on their bodies in the moonlight. The only sounds at this point being the heavy breathing of the couple.

"Well that was more energetic than usual." Peter observed.

Felicia stretched over to kiss Peter before snuggling up next to him. "Well you do know how to show a girl a good time."

"When the data is decrypted, hopefully we can have more fun." Peter said.

"Fighting bad guys and spending time with you are my two favorite things." Felicia said contently.

"Me too."

 **AN: People wanted more sex. Luckily, that is pretty easy to deliver with a character like Felicia Hardy. The tricky part is still writing it so it doesn't seem to overdone and too graphic, but like two adults in a healthy relationship.**


	8. Arc 1, Chapter 8

**AN: So I was in the middle of writing the chapter that was originally going to be in place here when I had an epiphany, and I said to myself 'this needs to be written now'. So I did. This chapter was a lot of fun to write because it seems like it would be awkward and uncomfortable for everyone. Lastly, much love to NeoTyson. I saw that you gave me an unsolicited shout out in a recent update to one of your stories. Some more love to Celgress and Highlander348 for their continued support in reviewing this story, as well as everyone else who reviews as well. I am reading them.**

Chapter 8

Peter woke slowly to the subtle scent of breakfast in the air. The sweet smell of pancakes and bacon permeated throughout the bedroom and invited itself the senses of the waking man. As he opened his eyes, he saw that he was alone in the sun filled bedroom. He ran his hand over Felicia's imprint on the bed sheets beside him, noting that it was cold, indicating she had left a while ago.

Peter could no longer resist the smell of what he strongly suspected was breakfast. He rolled out of bed slowly, tired from the activities from last night, and wandered over to a dresser where he pulled out and put on a clean pair of underwear. He then put on a rumpled, but comfy tee shirt and went out the door to the common area of his apartment where he was greeted with more of a scene that he expected. Company.

On the main floor below, Peter saw that his Aunt May had stopped by and was at work at the stove with a spatula in one hand and a pair of tongs in the other, the heavenly aroma more pronounced now that he had left the room. Nearby at a counter, Aunt May's second husband, whom she remarried many years after Benjamin Parker's death, Jay Jameson sat reading the day's copy of the Daily Bugle. Felicia, wearing a crop top and jeans, sat next to him on the counter reading off her phone.

Felicia was the first one to notice he was up. "Peter. Good morning sweetie." Felicia said as she pranced over and embraced him with an extremely passionate kiss and grabbing his butt.

"Good morning." Peter said a little surprised, and a little awkward. The then looked over Felicia's shoulder "Good morning Aunt May. What brings you here?"

"Thought that I would surprise you." Aunt May Said with a smile.

Peter walked over to the stove and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. "When did you get here?"

"Oh, about a half hour ago." The older woman responded.

"How's it going Jay?" Peter looked over to the older man.

"Fine." he said absent mindedly, clearly engrossed in the paper.

"Peter dear, I know this is your place, but it would be rather polite if you could go get dressed." Aunt May pointed out. The tone sounded like a request, but the stern look on her face indicated that it was more of a demand.

"Yeah, I can do that." Peter said, and quickly moved upstairs to make himself more decent.

As Peter left, Aunt May looked to Felicia. "Would you like to change as well?" The woman asked pointing towards Felicia's bare midriff and belly button.

"Why would I?" Felicia asked confused.

"Have it your way." Aunt May said with the slightest bit of displeasure. Aunt May had never really accepted Felicia. As far as she was concerned she was a tad too wild, and a tad to open with herself and her body to be with Peter. Peter was a nice young gentleman, and Felicia seemed to enjoy being a borderline harlot.

Upstairs Peter quickly punt on pants and a button down shirt that he left open over his tee shirt. A quick check of the closet revealed that he had indeed placed his Spider-Armor back, and that Felicia had hung up her Cat suit. It was good to know that they hadn't left out anything incriminating. Peter's eyes then grew wide as he remembered that there was something that could be extremely embarrassing. The laptop with Fisk's data drive was on the table in the living room. Peter then became more worried when he remembered that they hadn't cleaned up after last night, and cloths were still all over the couch should Aunt May have a reason to look over there.

He took a couple a deep breaths and prepared a plan. His only hope was to make everything look casual. His Aunt May had the nose of a Bloodhound for sniffing out when Peter was being awkward. Normally he was able to keep all of his Spider-Man activities hidden. The obvious evidence of his and Felicia's adult relationship activities though would be much more awkward to explain.

Peter walked outside and went down to the living room calmly. "When's breakfast going to be ready?" He asked as calmly as he could.

"Getting ready now." Aunt May stated clearly.

"Awesome." Peter picked up his laptop which had indeed finished cracking into Fisk's data. Meanwhile he picked up the clothing from last night and threw it underneath the couch. He walked over to the dining room table and sat down. The laptop beside him closed and began to tear into a full stack of pancakes.

Jay was the only other one who ate with any enthusiasm. Aunt May and Felicia just took small bites and glared at each other from opposite sides of the table. The frigid conflict that took place went unnoticed for the time between the men at the table. Felicia never liked the fact that Aunt May only saw the side of her that most other people saw. The fun loving and flirty young woman. Felicia knew she cared deeply for Peter, and held it against the older woman that she couldn't see that.

The next few minutes were only filled with the sound of cutlery clinking against china. Eventually Peter got done and popped open the screen of the computer. Under normal circumstances, he wouldn't look through the information of a criminal overlord in front of his Aunt, but neither she nor Jay would understand the technical schematics of the nano-technology he was looking at or the programming code that he was examining.

Jay noticed him clicking through his computer. "What's that you're working on?" He asked with genuine curiosity. Even though he didn't understand the high level math and science needed to know the details, he did try to be supportive in his own way. In that way he did remind Peter of his Uncle Ben.

"Technical data and programming for nano-technology." Peter said honestly.

"Ah. Okay then." Jay said and went back to his paper.

"So why are you in town?" Peter asked. Jay and May had moved to Boston some time ago.

"Jay and I are attending a fund raiser at the Museum of Modern Art." Aunt May said proudly. She had become very happy with the fact that he now had access to the financial resources to help people pursue academic and artistic talent, much in the same way she tried to support Peter when he was a boy.

"Oh, the one with the Pollock exhibition?" Felicia asked.

"Yes. How did you know about that?" May asked with a mixture of concern and surprise.

"I helped verify a few pieces." She answered. Since giving up crime, she had earned an honest living as an art and antiquities dealer. " Peter and I'll be there as well." She finished knowing that it would annoy May that she would be in the same room as her.

"Terrific." May said with disappointment.

Peter could sense that this sudden visit was quickly getting awkward. He needed an out quick and it was sitting right in front of him. "Aunt May, I loved that you stopped by and made breakfast, it was delicious by the way, but I have some work to do now, and we will be seeing each other at the art museum…" He explained and trailed off with urgency.

"Oh I suppose." May said sadly.

"I'll walk you down though." Peter said cheerfully, knowing it would make his aunt happy.

The quick ride down the elevator was done in silence. When the trio of Peter, his aunt and Jay reached the curb, May turned to her husband.

"Jay. Go get the car please." She requested.

"Be right back." Jay said in a friendly manner.

As he left, she turned to face Peter. "I really don't see what you have in common with her." May observed.

Peter groaned. This subject always came up when they were alone. He loved his aunt, but May continued to try and get him to return to a relationship with Mary Jane Watson, his old girlfriend and neighbor. "Aunt May, I've told you. M.J. couldn't support my work ethic, and I love doing the stuff that I do. Felicia does. Because of that we communicate more about our days, and that means the world to me. On top of that, she loves all of my little quirks that come naturally. Mary Jane just wanted me to change into someone I couldn't be." Peter had made these statements so many times they were now a rehearsed speech. Aunt May always figured that it had to do with Peter being a scientist, and not with him being a super hero.

Aunt May sighed in response.

"I know that she isn't the woman you thought I would spend the rest of my life with. But she is the woman that I can see doing that with." Peter said tring to sound convincing.

May perked up. "Peter, are you telling me that…."

"OH. No no no no no no no." Peter said in a rush. "Marriage, kids, stuff like that are defiantly a long way off. I mean we haven't even moved in yet." Peter said trying to reassure her that he was still a responsible young man.

May stared at him for a few seconds. "I guess I'll get used to her at some point." Jay just then pulled dup on the street in front of them in their car. Aunt May reached out to hug Peter. Peter gladly welcomed the embrace with a smile on his face.

"I love you Aunt May." He said.

"I love you too." She replied. The two eventually broke apart, and May held another stern look on her face. "But you need to shower. I don't know what you two did in bed last night, but you smell like her perfume still." May explained as she released him and walked away.

Peter just stared at her as she got into the car, thinking how he had just been busted.

 **AN: Despite all of the Spider-Man comics, movies, TV shows, video games, and fiction I have consumed, I don't ever recall seeing Aunt May directly interact with Felicia. My gut instinct is that they would not get along, principally is because Felicia isn't M.J. Even though I ship Peter and Felicia, I don't think it would be in character for Aunt May to do so as well. Also I have settled on the future of how I want to write this story. Should be a good way for me to continue to add to the story as I see fit. I hope I can come up with the content for it. I hope you all stick around to see it.**


	9. Arc 1, Chapter 9

**AN: Happy Holidays y'all. I make no apologies for getting this chapter out so late. After spending the last couple days gorging myself on cookies and food, I finally got down to writing. I wanted to try something different for this chapter. Anyway I hope you all enjoy it, I'll explain myself more at the end.**

Chapter 9

Peter took the elevator back up to his apartment, thinking about how he was going to bridge the gap between his Aunt May and Felicia. The two didn't hate each other, at least to the best of his knowledge. They defiantly both loved him. The problems between the two came from what they thought was best. Aunt May wanted Peter to be happy and successful. Felicia wanted Peter and Spider-Man to be happy. As Peter walked into his place, his mind once again came to the conclusion that the two women in his life didn't get along because Felicia knew about Spider-Man, and Aunt May didn't.

Peter looked up from his thoughts and was greeted with a scene that he wished that he didn't see. There in space between the living area and the kitchen, Felicia stood in a very flattering set of lingerie. The black garment was almost translucent, and trimmed with lace. Felicia had posed with her hands on her hips and one of her legs bent at the knee, smiling in a way where she knew she was having the desired effect. Peter just stared dumbfounded at his mostly naked girlfriend.

"I was wondering how long it would take them to leave." Felicia said cheerfully as she sauntered up to Peter. She then wrapped he arms around Peter's head. "Now we can get back to what we were doing last night." She whispered into his ear.

"Ahhhh." Peter moaned slowly breaking her grasp and moving back to his computer in the dining area. "How…how did you change so fast?" Peter stammered trying to change the subject.

"I didn't change at all. This is a normal pair of underwear…when I actually wear it." Felicia explained suggestively while following him. She noticed that he started paging through windows on the computer. "Are you looking for a video that will get us in the mood?" Felicia asked seductively, wrapping her hands around Peter's stomach.

"What! No." Peter at this point had shifted into scientist mode, looking over all of the data that had been decrypted from Fisk's facility.

"You're not being very fun right now." Felicia said in a deadpan manner.

Peter looked over his shoulder and into Felicia's crestfallen eyes. "Do you want to have sex, or punch Hobgoblin in the face?"

The fire returned to Felicia's eyes and her nostrils flared. "Oh defiantly punch him in the face."

"Well, if you let my play on my portable naked lady machine here, you'll get that opportunity." Peter said. He made the porn reference to reassure Felicia that she had succeeded in making him think dirty thoughts, at least for a brief moment.

Felicia smiled and backed off letting him work. Peter began to sift through all of the information. The way that corporate espionage worked is it was more important to get product technical information, and production timelines. This was so that you could clone, or reverse engineer whatever a competing company was doing, or beat them in getting you product into the hands of consumers. Getting the physical location of where objects where being kept usually just isn't a priority. Because of this it took Peter almost a half hour to find the location of the hard drive that had the Nano-tech program. He eventually came across the shipping manifest to transport the copy of the programming code in the security van from a few days ago.

"Got it!" Peter shouted with glee while pumping both his fists into the air. "The program is on a mainframe at Alchemax's Roosevelt Island facility." He said proudly.

Felicia had changed into her Black Cat outfit, but wasn't wearing her mask. "So what's the plan?"

"Stakeout." Peter said cheerfully.

"Ugh." Felicia groaned. She hated waiting for things to happen.

"I know, I know. But just think of this as delayed gratification." Peter said trying to be reassuring.

"Mmmmm." She angrily hummed.

"I'll get changed. Then we can go out." Peter said leaving the table to get his outfit on.

* * *

About an hour later, Spider-Man and Black Cat were on Roosevelt Island about a block away from the building that held the Alchemax Computer with the Nano-tech programing information. They positioned themselfs on a nearby rooftop to give them the best possible view, while keeping them far enough away to avoid detection from Alchemax security, The Shocker, and Hobgoblin. The two hero's calmly sat, paying attention to the Alchemax campus, waiting for something to happen that was out of the normal parameters of a workday for a large company.

Black Cat sat and watched Spider-Man as he observed the facility below them. His vigilance and patience was admirable, but Black Cat found it annoying when his best plan was wait and see what happens. She knew that it was going to be a long day, and possibly even multiple days of waiting for an attack from either the thugs who attacked the Alchemax van to show up. But Spider-Man just went with it.

She noticed that he was nodding his head up and down in some kind of rhythm. She had noticed that this had been going on for the past several minutes. "What are you doing?" Back Cat asked with an irked tone in her voice.

"Ummm…waiting for bad guys to show up?" Spider-Man said confused. He thought she was just irritated things weren't moving faster.

"No, not that. You've been nodding for like…ten minutes."

"Oh. Yeah, I got a song stuck in my head." Spider-Man explained, not looking away from the Alchemax buildings.

"What song?"

"Weird Al's: Jerry Springer." Spider-Man said proudly.

"Why?"

Spider-Man turned to face her. "Because it's awesome?" he said confused.

Black Cat stared at her boyfriend for a moment. "No. How did that song get stuck in your head?"

"I was thinking about how Weird Al started out doing Polka music." Spider-Man explained further.

Black Cat continued to stare at him. "You're going to need to explain that whole process from the beginning there." She said after a moment.

Spider-Man took a deep breath. "Okay. So there was this dude I spotted with a very impressive mustache. My first though after that was something along the lines of 'he must be doing that for some kind of dare or challenge'. Then I remembered that there are contests in Germany for mustaches and beards. Then for some reason I started thinking about the Polka music that they play during Oktoberfest. After that, I remembered that Weird Al did Polka music."

"So where is that guy with the mustache?" Black Cat asked with genuine curiosity about the facial hair.

"I dunno. That was like ten minutes ago." Spider-Man defended, and looked back to the Alchemax facility.

"So you've had one song stuck in your heard for ten minutes?" Black Cat continued to probe.

"No different songs. He writes catchy stuff."

"Well other people write catchy stuff." Black Cat critiqued. "He just spoofs them."

"I think that he generally improved upon the work of others." Spider-Man said.

"I'm just saying, his music is fun, but not very special. Plenty of people change lyrics to songs on YouTube, Bandcamp. Other places like that."

"And yet his career has been longer than most of the people that he has made fun of, and is far more popular than anyone else who has ever attempted to spoof songs. On top of that, he still has original stuff to."

"Yeah but who knows those songs?" Black Cat challenged.

"Lame Claim to Fame is pretty popular."

"Okay. But who remembers songs like 'Albuquerque' and 'The Night Santa Went Crazy'?

"Apparently you do." Spider-Man said with a smile behind his mask.

"How about people who don't have boyfriends who listen to Wield Al?"

"I dunno. Some probably do and some probably don't." Spider-Man conceded without breaking his view of the Alchemax compound.

"That sounds like a cop out."

"Can we get back to looking out for homicidal maniacs and brutish thugs now?" Spider-Man asked urgently.

"Fine…" Black Cat said annoyed.

Spider-Man continued his surveillance. "We have some weird conversations while on a stake out don't we?" he stated after a few moments.

"Yeah. Why can't we just talk about sex like normal people?"

Spider-Man looked at Black Cat and held up a finger. "First of all, you talk about sex as often as you can." Spider-Man put up a second finger. "Second, we're a crime fighting super duo. We don't qualify as normal."

"Sooooo…are you saying we're don't talk about sex enough? Or too much?" Black Cat asked confused.

"I'm saying that we talk about sex plenty, but that we're not normal." Spider-Man explained.

"So is this a sex conversation, or a conversation about sex?" Black Cat asked, still confused.

"I dunno anymore." He stated. "Can we get back to the surveillance?" He pleaded. "Something is bound to happen at some point."

 **AN: So I have been told that I write pretty good dialogue, and that I can effectively convey emotion through the use of dialogue, as well as making it realistic. This is however, the first time that I have ever attempted a Quinton** **Tarantino/Mark Twain/Jane Austin style scene where it exists solely for the sake of dialogue. I really want to know weather you enjoyed this at any level.**


	10. Arc 1, Chapter 10

**AN: Sorry for the delay folks. Life and other hobbies got in the way. This chapter was meant to be longer, but it needed to go through a couple edits. These edits are now in the next chapter. At the end, I have a small bit of information to all of my much appreciated readers. Until then, please enjoy.**

Chapter 10

Spider-Man found himself playing an emulation of classic video games on his phone as the stake out went on into the night. He didn't want to admit it, but he was beginning to think that his plan to wait here all day and night was not the brightest. After infiltrating The Kingpin's labs, there would likely be pressure from the man to acquire the program as fast as possible in order to stay ahead of the hero's. Spider-Man worried at this point that the facility was somewhere else. He shouldn't need to be passing the time because bad guys should have been here already if this was the place.

Spider-Man looked of and saw that Black Cat was once again on her phone, likely scrolling through social media for celebrity gossip. "What are you up to?" he asked casually.

"Checking the guest list tomorrow for the art exhibit." Black Cat said smiling. "Your aunt and Jay are indeed on it."

"Wonderful." Spider-Man said with deadpan sarcasm. After the events this morning, Spider-Man was not keen to spend time with both his aunt and his girlfriend in the same room.

"Hey. You promised that you would go as my plus one." Black reminded him sternly.

"Ugh." He groaned.

"I have a new slinky dress that I plan on wearing." She said in a leading manner.

"Ooooh." He hummed happily.

A crash from the streets below broke their conversation. As they looked down, they saw the same van that took Shocker away from the assault on the Alchemax van crash through the gate to the work campus right below them. It sped in a straight line straight line towards a warehouse that was near the back of the property. The late night workers that were still on duty bolted out of the way of the speeding vehicle.

"Time to get to work." Spider-Man said casually.

The Spider dove off of the roof they were on and shot out a webline that took him over the fence the surrounded the Alchemax compound. He then landed on the cement sidewalk that served as the path between buildings and began to run after the van. He heard the sound of footsteps behind him, informing him that Black Cat was on his tail.

Ahead of them, they saw the van stop and the doors, and rear compartment opened up. Shocker and the three men from before with their Type 56 Assault Rifles jumped out and ran into the nearby warehouse.

As the two hero's got closer, they each shot a webline and grapple to the second story of the warehouse and entered through the windows. This put them on a gantry on the second floor. Below them Shocker and his crew were beginning to scavenge the place for the computer that would have the nano-tech program. The robbers moved with urgency, but in a pattern so that they didn't miss what they were looking for. Because they were behind the thieves, their entrance went unnoticed.

"Alright. Find the computer, rip out the hard drives. Then we can get out of here. Remember that the science guys said that we need to shut the computer down before we can take out the hard drive or we'd fry the data." Shocker said to the men in his crew.

The three thieves broke off and began to disappear into the maze of scaffolding, boxes, cubical offices, and computer servers. The gunman stared at the wall and shelves and moved briskly, quickly losing site of one another. Shocker stayed behind near the entrance to watch out for police and Alchemax security to hold them off if and when they showed up. Strong arm tactics fell right into the fluffy felon's wheelhouse.

"All right. They're splitting up." Spider-Man stated. "We should handle them quietly."

Black Cat's eyes glinted with mischief and mirth. She smiled brightly with an understanding that she knew what she was going to do. She jumped up into the shadows that were in the rafters.

Spider-Man smiled under his mask and followed. Black cat had already disappeared, so he followed the rustle of the armed gun in the floor below. He worked his way over to the first robber. As he got over the top, he shot a two web lines straight down and attached one to his mouth and one around his legs. Spider-Man jumped down out of the rafter, acting as a counter weight, he pulled the member of Shocker's crew up and hung him high in the sky. The speed of action ripped the weapon from his hands, rendering him no longer a threat.

Spider-Man looked up at his handy work. Pleased with himself, he launched himself up to the top of the nearby scaffolding. Looking down the next aisle, he saw another thief. Spider-Man shot more web lines down and wrapped up the felon in a cocoon of web, and yanked him upward out of sight. He then jumped over another aisle. He expected to see Black Cat standing victoriously over a defeated opponent. Instead he saw the third gunman moving on his own power.

From the front of the warehouse, a loud burst erupted. "Nice try bitch." Shocker voice echoed.

"BOSS!" shouted the gunman below.

"Ah hell." Spider-Man muttered. He then made a twelve foot elbow drop down on the man below him. A quick punch to the temple and the man dropped. Spider-Man then sprinted out the aisle to where the commotion was. "CAT!" he shouted.

Black Cat was kneeling on the ground, several feet from Shocker, holding her side in pain. "Yeah, he saw me."

"Yeah figured that you'd show up and pull some shit like that." Shocker said now trying to keep a focus on both Spider-Man and Black Cat. "Always remember to look up when dealing with you two." He said proudly.

"Can't you follow directions?" Spider-Man said annoyed. Life and death situations were not the situations where you settled personal grudges.

"You said take care of them quietly. You didn't say who." Black Cat defended, working her way to her feet.

"Yeah, luckily I took care of the others." Spider-Man said.

"God Damn." Shocker shouted angrily. "Ya think that professional thieves could be a bit better at their jobs. I need to start working with the guys from the Vegas job again."

Shocker continued to stare down Black Cat and Spider-Man. Spider-Man moved over to stand by Black Cat and help her stand up. "How do you think that you can both get the hard drive, defeat us, and escape without getting caught?"

"By being patient." Shocker said calmly.

Beneath his mask, Spider-Man had a scowl on his face. Shocker was not an idiot. Despite being a thug, he was pretty good a planning a heist. Sometimes, he planned for things to go south. That was when he made off with whatever he was trying to steal usually.

The door to the ware house opened, and several armored Alchemax riot personnel charged in. In addition to the blue and grey riot gear, they wore gas masks, and carried stun batons, and tear gas. The men in the uniforms weren't here to stop criminals. They were hear to stop everyone.

"Was this seriously your plan? Get us all stuck in a standoff with each other? Hope we get preoccupied while you make off?" Spider-Man asked bewildered.

"Almost." Shocker said with a grin underneath his yellow mask.

"O.K. I'll bite. What's left?" Black Cat asked.

Just then an explosion ripped hole in the roof. As the smoke cleared, Hobgoblin flew in on his glider, cackling manically. "I couldn't help but overhear this little party going on. Thought I'd gate crash. And crash anything else for that matter that suited me." He said as he pulled pumpkin bombs out of his satchel.

"GET 'EM" Shouted the leader of the Alchemax security squad. The riot team promptly started tossing tear gas into the air.

"Get down!" Spider-Man shouted as he pulled Black Cat behind nearby cover.

Shocker also dove behind cover. "Now it's a party." He said calmly.

 **AN: So first the bad news. I have a business trip that is coming up that is about three weeks long at the end of this month. I will be far too busy to update. On the plus side, the edits to this chapter means I already have content for the next chapter, and I plan on at least getting one more out before said trip. Please be patient though. I have am not going to compromise quality for time though. About the middle of February, regular updates will resume. Stay classy everyone.**


	11. Arc 1, Chapter 11

**AN: So I got a big update for you all at the end of the chapter.**

Chapter 11

Hobgoblin sailed through the air on his glider, dropping bombs, noxious gas, and caltrops. All with a glint in his eyes and while humming Ride of the Valkyries. "What a pleasant surprise this is. Everyone in one place trying to hurt each other." Hobgoblin said with glee.

Below him the Alchemax Emergency Response Service formed up into three lines. The first line held ballistic shields, designed to absorb shocks waves from explosives and rounds from a .44 magnum. The second line held bean bag shotgun, their bright orange pumps and stocks giving away their less than lethal nature. These shotguns were fired over the heads of the first line. The last line tossed tear gas, flash bangs, and sting ball grenades over the first two lines. This strategy worked well almost universally for suppressing out of control situations.

Slowly sneaking away from the turmoil through the maze of aisles, computers, and crates, Shocker plodded along. "While everyone looks left, I'll move right." He said, reveling in his own unique kind of genius.

As he moved along, he made sure to release his two men that were strung up in Spider-Man's webbing. He then had the two of them carry the third man who was still unconscious.

"So I take we're going with Plan B?" asked one of the armed robbers, knowing the answer.

"Oh yeah." Shocker said calmly.

* * *

Back near the commotion, Spider-Man and Black Cat quickly planned out how they were going to subdue the bad guys. "All right. We need to let Alchemax do the heavy lifting while we go and find the terminal with the program. We defend that." Spider-Man explained with urgency.

"I've got a better idea. I'll take Hobgoblin." Black Cat responded.

"No. Stick toge…"

"I'll take Hobgoblin."

"The progr…"

"I'll. Take. Hobgoblin." Black Cat stated firmly. Each word punctuated with determination and confidence.

Spider-Man stared at her for a little bit. "Fine." He groaned in defeat.

Black Cat smiled and jumped into the air. Spider-Man followed, knowing that his partner and girlfriend would need backup. Not for the Hobgoblin. She could handle him. Alchemax was determined to put everyone under control. To keep Black Cat safe, Spider-Man needed to put them under control.

He jumped over the crate that he was hiding behind and sprinted through the painful combination of tear gas, blinding flashes, and high velocity rubber balls. The mask and plating of the MK. III Spider Armor protected him from the dangers posed by the Alchemax ERS. As he moved his way through the smoke, he identified where the team was through the noise that they were making. Spider-Man then jumped as hard as needed to vault over all three lines of the riot team, landing behind them.

The last line of the riot squad turned around to face the hero in grey and black armor. They didn't quite know how to deal with this. People didn't jump over their ranks with regularity. Sure they sometimes had bricks and other objects fall on top of them, but that's what the helmets and gas masks were for. Someone appearing behind them left them in a position they were not prepared for.

Spider-Man did have an idea what to do. He shot out web lines and began to pull of flash bangs and sting ball grenades of the belts and vests of the ERS men. The riot gas would have no effect because of their gas masks. The blasts of the flashbangs began to blind then, and the sting ball grenades cause them to freeze in pain. With this, his opponents dazed, confused and immobilized, Spider-Man had the opportunity to incapacitate the riot team.

Spider-Man then began to shoot more web lines towards the security force. This time he targeted their gas masks, pulling them off. This in turn left the team exposed to all of the chemical fumes that permeated the atmosphere inside the warehouse. The chlorobenzalmalononitrile caused the men to rapidly collapse their disciplined formation. The gas caused tears to begin streaming from their face as their eyes stung. Their noses ran freely. All of them began to cough and hack, some so violently that they vomited. The men began to run toward the entrance that they came in.

"Everyone out. Police will be on route to cordon the campus." One of the men shouted.

Spider-Man watched as the team ran out with the slightest feeling of guilt. Many were probably honest men trying to earn an honest living, and protecting Alchemax interests was a simple enough way to do that. But this situation was too dangerous for the average security guard to handle, and the needed to leave, for their own safety.

Once the security team had evacuated, Spider-Man turned to see how Black Cat was faring against Hobgoblin. What he saw pleased him and filled him with immense pride in his partner and girlfriend.

* * *

Black Cat jumped from her relative safety of the crate and into the air. She grabbed the ledge of a catwalk that was above her and grace fully swung herself up and over the railing and onto the walkway. She then scanned the interior of the warehouse to see Hobgoblin still traversing about with his glider, lobbing explosives all about.

The white haired vigilante looked around to figure out to remove the flying felon from his method of transportation. She settled on clotheslining him similar to a wrestling match on T.V., but with a super powered twist. She then fired a grapple across the expanse to the other side of the warehouse, lodging it into the opposite wall. Hobgoblin, not seeing the thin wire in his path, ran into the trap. This caused him to get knocked form his mobile perch, which then conveniently flew out a window as he plummeted to the ground.

Cat grinned mischievously. She was going to take a play out of her Spider-s book. While Hobgoblin was shaking his head on the ground, Black Cat dislodged the grapple from the wall, then whipped it like a lasso around Hobgoblin's legs. When she was sure that the grapple was secured, Black Cat jumped down beneath the railing, creating a pulley that hung the orange criminal like a deer ready to be gutted.

Black Cat smiled with self-satisfaction. "Well hello again." Black Cat taunted pleasantly.

"Good evening sidekick." Hobgoblin said in an equally pleasant manner.

This immediately Black Cat worried. "What are you doing?"

"Oh. Just an armed robbery." Hobgoblin said plainly. "I figured that that was obvious."

"I know for a fact that it's extremely difficult to get away with violating that civil statute when you're hung upside down. Nice work Cat." Spider-Man said as he walked up. "Took care of the security team. What's up with Discount Hollowing Costume?"

"He's far too pleasant for a captured criminal." Black Cat said worried.

Spider-Man took a nano-second to analyze the situation. He figured out what was up immediately and smiled under his mask. "He's messing with the remote on his wrist subtly. He's trying to call back his glider."

Hobgoblin dropped his charade and began typing furiously on his wrist mounted remote.

"Don't get your hopes up." Spider-Man said in a chiding manner. "This is a warehouse full of prototype gadgets and gizmos. Alchemax probably hardened it against foreign frequencies."

Hobgoblin stared at the duo and then grew a menacing grin on his face. "Fine." He then pulled a spinning razor off of his belt, intending to cut himself free.

The duo acted in sync, as if sharing an unseen mental bond. This was, however, merely a practiced routine that they normally faced with a gun wielding thug strung up on a lamppost. Spider-Man shot out a web line that grabbed the wrist with the razor, and pulled disarming the Hobgoblin. Black Cat simultaneously fired a spin kick at the hanging man's head, knocking him unconscious with a resolute 'crack'. The result was the Hobgoblin was left swinging like a piñata, and finally silent.

"Ohhhh, that felt sooooo goooood." Black Cat said in an extremely satisfied tone.

Sirens could be heard in the distance. "Time to go." Spider-Man said.

"What about Shocker?" Black Cat asked confused.

"Haven't seen him since Hobgoblin started blowing stuff up. He either scadattled, or he's gonna get caught in a little bit." Spider-Man said as he began to sprint out of the warehouse.

Black Cat shrugged and ran after him, they defeated the Alchemax force, and Hobgoblin. Even if they didn't get the hat trick with Shocker, it was still a good night. No one made it into the warehouse deep enough to get the drive, so that was a success as well. As the two jumped up and began to swing away, the police started to arrive on scene to arrest anyone who wasn't supposed to be there.

* * *

Shocker was being led away by the cops, but not in handcuffs. They were hurried outside the police cordon and told to get to safety. The reason why this was is because of Shocker's plan involving a con and misdirection.

While everyone was focused on Hobgoblin, Spider-man, Black Cat, and Alchemax security, Shocker opted to go for the Kansas City Shuffle con. As everyone was focused on the danger and destruction at the front of the warehouse, Shocker and his crew moved to the back.

When they discovered the drives with the nano-tech program, they quickly took off their thief gear to reveal the most innocuous outfit on the planet. Contract custodial staff. The weapons were hid from sight, and the drives were hidden on their person. They then cowered in a corner while they waited for the police, claiming their friend was woozy from an explosion. As they were led way from the scene they refused medical help from the paramedics and walked a short distance to a previously parked getaway car.

Shocker drove. He smiled. He had made off with the drives just as he had promised to Kingpin. He was a professional, and a professional doesn't panic, they get results.

* * *

Peter and Felicia watched the news, extremely pleased with their work. The police claimed they rounded up all of the criminals at the Alchemax work campus. Alchemax hadn't taken an inventory of the warehouse yet because it was still a crime scene, but they were lamenting the loss of valuable technology, but were ultimately pleased that their security forces were able to hold off the assailants until the NYPD arrived, and did so without injuries. Everyone was happy, aside from Hobgoblin, who was caught on camera cursing Spider-Man and 'his sidekick'.

"Turn that off." Felicia said. It was a news highlight reel at this point, and she had no real interest in continuing to watch it.

"Oh come on." Peter said. He enjoyed watching the bad guys lose.

Felicia turned off the T.V. "I want pin you to the mattress, then have sex with you for at least two hours. Preferably more." She said pulled him off the couch and upstairs to the bedroom. She knew that the best way to get into Peter's pants at this point was to be up front with her desires. It never failed.

Felicia also knew that it sometimes made Peter far more enthusiastic as well. As was the case now. Felicia did indeed do as she said. She pinned Peter to the bed again, but Peter was a much more active participant this time. Using one hand he pulled Felicia's face to meet his, kissing her with passion and urgency. Using the other had he clawed off her underwear in the same manner.

Felicia pushed her tongue into Peter's mouth, hungry for more contact. She pushed off his boxers leaving them both nude, and wanting. Further connection lead to electric waves of euphoria coursing through their bodies. Limbs wrapped around each other, and their faces were never more than centimeters apart. The couple began to sweat as the temperature of the room began to rise. Their ragged breathing didn't slow them down until their climax caused their bodies to seize and their hearts to damn near halt.

For a few brief seconds afterward Peter looked up at Felicia with love and affection and a big goofy grin on his face. "Damn."

"Were not done yet." Felicia said smiling seductively. "I still want to do all the things that I wanted to do this morning after breakfast." She then leaned in to kiss him some more.

"Have I told you I love you recently?" Peter asked.

"Stop talking. More sex." Felicia demanded.

"I love you." Peter said right before Felicia tongue made its way into his mouth again.

 **AN: Fun fact chlorobenzalmalononitrile is the active chemical in riot gas, and that stuff is not fun. Second if you didn't notice, I renamed all of the chapter thus far under 'Arc 1' because I've decided that I want to make this a persistently evolving universe. I'll need to edit the chapter headers, but that is a pretty easy fix. The downside is I now need to make more story boards. Third, I want to thank everyone once again for taking the time to review this story, it does serve as my best motivator. Chief among those I wish to thank are NeoTyson, Celgress, and Highlander, you're all awesome. Thank you all for reading, and you can plan on my next update being sometime in mid February.**

 **NoirValor, January 2016**


	12. Arc 2, Chapter 1

**AN: Hey every body I'm back. Like I said, update around the middle of February. Here's a little exposition for the second arc of the story. Please enjoy.**

Arc 2, Chapter 1

Peter woke up again naked. A quick glance over to the alarm clock on a nearby bedside table revealed that it was after ten in the morning. Peter rubbed his eyes and double checked just to be sure. He then sighed because he had slept in again and continued to examine the rest of the details of the room. The sky out the window showed a grey overcast, but thankfully no rain. There were several condom wrappers in a nearby wastebasket, which peter made a mental note to clean up later. Peter continued to look around and saw no evidence of Felicia in the room, and he decided that she must have been the first one up, as she usually was after events similar to last night.

Peter then grunted and groaned getting out of the bed, still a little sore from the fighting last night. He meandered over to a nearby dresser and put on a white t-shirt and a pair of black boxer briefs. Then he went into the connected bathroom and proceeded to shave and brush his teeth. Peter then felt the all too familiar rumbling of the stomach of a hungry young man.

After he finished dressing in a casual blue button down shirt with brown cargo pants, it wasn't long before Peter made his way downstairs to make himself some breakfast. There he discovered Felicia sitting cross-legged on a stool in the kitchen wearing an off white robe, and looking at her schedule for the day on her phone.

"Good morning Beautiful." Peter said with a smile.

Felicia looked up from her phone and smiled as well. "Thought I wore you out so much you'd sleep past noon."

Peter walked over to the refrigerator and pulled out orange juice, bread and butter. "Well I need to go and do some work at Horizon. Max needs the final report on my new battery." Peter was just trying to cover up for the fact that Felicia had indeed left him tired and wanting to sleep a tad longer. "What is your plan for the day?" Peter asked as he poured himself a glass of juice and inserted slices of bread into a toaster.

"Get ready for the art exhibit tonight. You haven't forgotten have you?" Felicia finished with concern.

Peter smiled as he had not. "No. The exhibit isn't until seven tonight. I only need an hour to shower and put on a suit. I have plenty of time to get some work done. I'll bring the suit with me in a garment bag and shower at work." Peter explained. "You aren't going to spend all day getting ready…are you?" Peter asked confused.

"Well I need to go to the spa, the salon, the boutique, I need to get my dress from the fitter, make up. A few other small things." Felicia explained.

'Women'. Peter thought to himself. The toasted bread popped out of the machines which Peter happily retrieved, and greedily began to eat after smearing butter on each slice.

Felicia stared at Peter as he washed down the buttered toast with a glass of orange juice. "What do you need to do at work?" Felicia asked even though she knew she probably wouldn't understand.

"Just need to send my final report like I said. Other than that, I dunno, think up more things to invent." Peter said as he walked over to the TV and turned on the news.

The news anchor was explaining more details about the attack on the Alchemax storage facility. "Alchemax wishes to thank the NYPD for their efforts in assisting their emergency response unit, none of whom were injured. Alchemax public relations is saying that there was an undetermined amount of damage to property. In related news, the identity of the Hobgoblin in the attacks has been confirmed by the FBI to be international fugitive and former government agent: Jason Macendale."

"Uggh. I thought it was going to be that creep Phil Urich." Felicia said. "I thought Macendale was dead?" she asked confused.

"I read his the file SHIELD has on him, Macendale used to be in the CIA. If anyone could fake his death, it would be him." Peter analyzed. "With all of the industrial espionage, I thought it would have been Roderick Kingsley though."

The anchor continued to discuss the events from last night, at which point Peter stopped watching and got up to leave for work. He quickly went upstairs, and grabbed the garment bag with his suit and well as the duffle with his spider armor. As he went back downstairs and kissed Felicia. "I'll see you at the museum later." Peter said casually.

"See ya." Felicia said as he left the apartment.

* * *

Peter walked into his lab. He set his duffle bag down and hung up the garment enclosed suit on a hanger in the corner. He then walked over to his massive desk, and turned on a computer, and began to pull out some chemicals to make web fluid. This process had been done so many times now that Peter could do it blindfolded with a head cold and a hangover, and still get it right.

The only risk for doing this at work was that someone may walk in. The average person wouldn't know what the combination of chemicals would create, but the scientists at Horizon would recognize and extrapolate immediately that what he was making was web fluid. Luckily everyone would assume that he was making it for Spider-Man, which was correct, but no one would assume that he was Spider-Man. Also, no one was opposed to a assisting Spider-Man from time to time.

As Peter finished mixing the chemicals he put them into pressurized canisters for his web shooters. He then put the chemicals away and put the web fluid in his duffle bag. Just as he was finishing up, Max Modell knocked on the door to his lab.

"Come in!" Peter shouted walking over to his computer.

"Peter my boy, come to work again?" Max questioned with a friendly attitude.

"Yeah Max. Just finishing up my report on the battery. You want to read it know or later."

"I'll skim it now quick and read the rest later." Max said as he leaned over the computer and began to read.

A few minutes later Max cleared his throat and looked over at Peter. "Well done he said. Some of the other scientists will be very pleased to use this in their own work. Especially the ones looking into green energy." Max said approvingly.

"Happy to help." Peter said with a smile.

"What else have you been up to these past few days?" Max asked, hoping to get a glimpse into the mind of Peter.

"Actually I've just been familiarizing myself with nano-technology. See what we might be able to do there." Peter said, glazing over the truth that he had been researching it to target bad guys.

"Any ideas?"

"Not really. I don't have enough experience in the field to make any breakthroughs unfortunately. Been thinking about looking more into bio-chem. Was trying to stimulate accelerated growth of bacteria in petri dishes. If I could accomplish the same thing with skin cells using a salve on this skin, might be useful to the medical field." Peter theorized.

"How would this be different from a skin graft?" Max questioned.

"Don't need donors. Grown from the patient's own skin, guarantee that it won't be rejected. No need for surgery, which will make some people happy. That's just the stuff off the top of my head, without having a sales person or PR guy put a spin on it."

"Hmm. I like it. Make it happen." Max said with encouragement and enthusiasm.

Max began to look around the lab and noticed the suit hanging up on the hanger. "Goin' to a party later?" he asked.

"Kinda. Art exhibit. Felicia's thing, not mine." Peter said.

"What kind of art?" Max said genuinely interested.

"Don't know. Didn't ask. Goin' anyway." Peter said knowing that he would have gone to a small fashion show in japan if Felicia asked him to. "So long as it isn't some abstract folk art, I should be able to glean some level of enjoyment out of it." Peter said hopefully.

"Where is she now?" Max asked.

"Somewhere getting ready for the exhibit."

"Yes. The fairer sex does take pride in appearance at public events." Max surmised. "For which a young man like you should appreciate if you were wise."

Peter laughed. "I am well aware. Luckily Felicia makes appreciating her very easy."

A few hours later, Peter was in the locker room of the gym at Horizon Labs. Like many large technology companies, Horizon supplied many amenities to encourage the employees to work as many hours as they comfortably could. From a gym, to a subsidized, catered meals, to a number of bunks in a sleeping area, it was easy to spend many days in the building.

Peter had gone for a quick run before using one of the showers and made sure to use the supplied soap and shampoo, and well as being sure to shave and apply deodorant. He wouldn't hear the end of it if Felicia though he didn't care to look his best. Now dressed in a black two piece suit, black oxford dress shoes, and a black tie with a white button down shirt, he felt like he was prepared for a fancy party at an art house.

Peter's phone vibrated with a text message from Felicia saying she was outside. Peter left the building calmly and was greeted with a wonderful sight. Outside, Felicia stood next to a chauffeured town car wearing a black dress that would surly draw many eyes. It hung off both shoulders with thin straps, and exposed most of her back and cleavage. The bottom stretched just past her knee due the angle of the cut, but had a higher cut up her left leg allowing it to escape into the night air. Simple diamond necklace and earrings matched with black strap stiletto heels completed the ensemble. Felicia's look screamed elegant, but still sexy as sin, or maybe sexy as sin, but still elegant.

She walked up to Peter, here hair bobbing as she walked. "You know, it's easier to kiss me if you pick you jaw up the floor." She smiled knowing she had the desired effect.

Peter realized he had been staring open mouthed, he then smiled and kissed her eagerly.

"Ready to go?" she asked.

"Spend the night with my gorgeous girlfriend, eating and drink fancy stuff on other people's dime. Oh yeah, I'm ready." Peter said faking enthusiasm.

"Excellent. Follow me." She said walking to the town car.

Peter followed, but inside his mind he was begging 'please don't be abstract art, please don't be abstract art.

 **AN: First of all, I want to welcome all of the new people following the story. Secondly, I want to welcome all of the old followers back. My trip went about as well as expected, some busy points, some parts where I was sitting on my ass doing nothing at all. Good trip overall though. I want to get this story kicked off the ground, but am still ironing out details of the climax and falling action, so expect the next few chapters to be a little slower to be written. The plus side is I finished the story boards for a hardcore, violent Agent Venom story that I have told a few of you about. The response has been mostly positive, so I do plan on beginning to write that as well. Any who, thank you all again for ready, please take the time to review, they are the single greatest motivator for me to write.**


	13. Arc 2, Chapter 2

**AN: Another chapter down...finally. I've been working on my Agent Venom story if you all feel like checking that out. I am personally very happy with how it is going so far. Other thing that I have been doing are watching Netflix, and playing Witcher 3. Life is good right now.**

Chapter 2

Peter rode in the back seat of the town car with Felicia. The black leather seemed to be abnormally warm, or maybe it was the suit he was wearing, or possibly it was because Felicia had served them both a cocktail from the minibar and were now running their hands up and down each other while brushing their lips against each other along the face and neck. Whatever the cause, what had started out as fun was beginning to become somewhat physically uncomfortable for Peter. Felicia on the other hand seemed far more comfortable.

Peter needed some way to break Felicia's attention. "Excuse me, Sir." He said getting the drivers attention from the front. When the driver looked back he asked "How long till we get to the gallery?"

"About ten more minutes. I would suggest that you two touch up quick if you want to look your best." The man said kindly.

Felicia smiled and reached into her clutch purse to pull out a small make up kit and begun to touch herself up. Peter just ran his hands through his hair and readjusted his tie. Peter figured that people were far more likely to pay attention to Felicia then they were to him, so he put in less effort.

Eventually the driver reached their destination at the gallery. Peter got out and walked around to open the door for Felicia. As she got out every pair of eyes belonging to the straight males were drawn to her. Not for the first time in his relationship with Felicia, Peter felt a strange combination of pride that people paid attention to his girlfriend, and anger at other males for ogling her. As the driver pulled away, Peter resigned himself to the fact that he was stuck here, and reminded himself that it was for Felicia.

The couple walked into the gallery and looked around. The guests were notable members of New York City high society. The types of people who had plenty of money to donate to charitable art foundations and other such charitable groups, when they were appropriately wined and dined at least. Luckily for Peter, there was plenty of hors d'oeuvres, which he quickly make a small plate of. Felicia on the other hand, being one of the authenticators for the pieces on display, needed to schmooze with at least a few individuals.

Felicia dragged Peter over to the man in charge of the museum, a kindly, if a tad childish by the name of Stanly. He wore a 3 piece black pin-stripe suit with a light pink shirt and a darker pink tie, as well as fashionably tinted sunglasses. Thinning grey hair sat atop his head and a grey mustache accompanied the wide smile that was a permanent feature on his face.

"Stanly!" Felicia said with joy as she walked up to him and kissed him on the cheek.

"Ms. Hardy. With that dress, you are the most beautiful thing in the building." Stanly said in a suave manner.

"Stanly, you flirt." She giggled.

"Who is this young man?" Stanly friendly asked.

"This is my arm candy." Felicia said giggling again.

"Peter Parker." Peter said intruding himself and sticking out a hand. The two men shook. "And I resent the fact that you implied that she isn't _always_ the most beautiful thing in the room." He finished confidently.

Stanly laughed. "I see why you like him. If you don't mind, I'm going to try and get more donations for the gallery and other." Stanly said. He then kissed Felicia on the cheek and walked away to mingle with others.

"Well he was…friendly." Peter said picking his words carefully after the older man was out of earshot.

Felicia smiled. "I have told him numerous times that he has no chance. But he flirts with any pretty woman he lays eyes on. It kinda dosen't make me feel all that special."

Peter hummed his indifference.

"Why don't you go to the bar and find us something to drink?" Felica suggested.

Peter shrugged his shoulders and walked away while Felicia began to talk to various people in the area. As he made his way through the crowd, Peter looked at some of the art that was on display. They were thankfully landscapes and portraits. Peter guess that, judging from the clothing of the people in the paintings, they were from Europe or Russia. Peter grinned because that meant he could at least understand what the paintings were about.

As he approached the bar that was set up in a center atrium, he saw two people he did recognize, though only one of which he was actually happy to see. Jay Jameson was standing next to his son, and mayor of New York City, J. Jonah Jameson. They were both having a cordial conversation about something. Peter decided that it would be rude not to socialize seeing as they were his former boss and his father in law.

"Hey there Jay. Mayor Jameson." Peter friendly greeted them.

"Peter. How are you?" Jay said in an equally friendly and enthusiastic manner.

"Parker." J. Jonah nodded. "What are you doing here?" He asked with a mixture of curiosity and confusion.

"If you're talking about being at the exhibit, my girlfriend Felicia Hardy verified some of the art. I'm just a guest." Peter explained.

"Not here. What are you doing at the bar?" Jameson asked. "Don't really see you as the drinking type."

Peter chuckled. "Yeah. Guess I don't do that much. Felicia asked me to get something." He explained.

Jay laughed. "You're wrapped around her finger aren't you?"

"Says the man whose wife brought him to an art exhibit, and asked him to get a drink who is now hanging around the bar with his son and step nephew?"' Peter countered.

"Touché."

J. Jonah gestured to the bartender. "Another drink sir?" the man asked.

"This young man needs a glass of champagne and a Glenfiddich 15." The mayor said. The bartender nodded in understanding.

"Mayor, I'm not really…" Peter stated.

"Trust me. Unless you have an acute taste in art, which I seriously doubt you have Parker, the best way to get though these types of events is with a little help from a decent drink." J. Jonag said. "Makes the discussion less dry and the colors pop more."

"Okaaaaay. Why Scotch?" Peter asked.

"Subtle indication of your guest status." J. Jonah explained. "The people with champagne are the actual art junkies. The people with cocktails and straight liquor are either donators, or guests, so people know not to ask you complicated question about the pictures. That and you can hang around the bar without getting noticed."

Peter looked around and saw that J. Jonah was right. The people with the flutes of the carbonated drinks were closer to the pieces of art, while the people with stiffer drinks were huddled together in smaller groups elsewhere. This bit of insight Peter never would have noticed unless it was pointed out.

"Wish I had known that before. I've always just gotten champagne for Felicia and I when she brings me to these things." Peter said. "But I'm still not much of a drinker." Peter had a hard time getting drunk due to his super hero physiology.

"So just hold the damn glass then and don't talk to people who look to snooty or politically correct." J. Jonah said gruffly.

"I've attended enough of these events to know that he is not far off the mark here Peter." Jay said.

The bartender came back with the drinks and handed them to Peter. Thankfully the drinks were complementary due to the cover price to get into the event. "Thanks for the advice. Now I've got to go leer at any more old guys who may flirt with Felicia." Peter said a turned to walk away.

"We'll be here hiding if you need a place as well." J. Jameson said.

"Have a good night Peter. You're aunt is here somewhere. You may want to find her and say hi." Jay advised.

"Thanks." Peter said.

Meanwhile Felicia found herself walking up to the very woman whom she didn't want to, May Parker. Despite the fact that she was close to her nephew, May had yet to have a conversation with Felicia that was not judgmental or condescending. Felicia had yet to understand why the older woman had such disdain for her. Still they were in the same building, they knew each other, it would be uncivil to at not say hi.

"Good evening May." Felicia said as friendly as she could.

"Felicia." May said plainly. May was wearing a plain blue conservative long dress with sleeves. Aside from the fact that it was formal wear, it couldn't have been more different than what Felicia was wearing.

"Peter is at the bar if you want to say hi." Felicia said trying to be helpful.

"Why is he there?" The older woman asked confused.

"Oh. I asked him to get a drink for me."

"Ah. Are you sure that's appropriate?"

"What drinking? Yes. It's fine." Felicia defended.

"Hmmm." May hummed in disdain.

"So are you enjoying yourself?" Felicia asked, continuing to try and be friendly.

"I have been. It's nice to donate to worthwhile endeavors. Though there are some people who I like more than others." May said glaring at Felicia

Felicia was about to start being belligerent.

"Aunt May. Felicia. Been looking for you two." Peter said with excitement as he approached the women with drinks in his hand.

"Peter." They both said.

"You two getting along?"

Felicia opened her mouth to respond, but May beat her.

"Where have you been mister?" May interrogated.

"Ummm. The bar." Peter said handing the champagne he was carrying to Felicia who promptly started drinking it. "Jay and J. Jonah are there."

"Uggh." May groaned. "Better make sure they aren't causing too much of a scene. It was good to see you Peter. We'll talk more later."

May walked away as Peter turned to Felicia. "Any better?" Peter asked referencing Felicia's rough relationship with Peter's Aunt.

"Ughhhh." Felicia groaned.

"That bad huh?"

"I don't know." Felicia said as she then drained the whole glass of champagne. She then laid her head against his shoulder.

"Don't worry about it. Aunt May has to come around eventually."

"She's just so passive aggressive about it."

Peter rubbed her bare shoulder and kissed her forehead. "I still care."

Felicia smiled at the affection. "Thanks."

"Hey. Let's get back to admiring things I don't understand." Peter joked.

Felicia laughed. The two walked around to various exhibits. Felicia talked about the painters, the painting, influences. Art wasn't just a hobby or a job for Felicia. She was genuinely passionate about it. When she was still a thief as Black Cat, that was part of the reason why she stole art. Now her occupation as an appraiser put her in contact with valuable pieces on a daily basis, so she was able to get her fill without having to resort to crime.

The two stood in front of a landscape painting. Felicia talked on and on as she had been doing, and Peter listened as best he could. He wished that there was something more interesting going on though at some point. Peter regretted that wish almost instantly.

The sound of breaking glass reverberated through the art gallery as metal canisters began to fall through some of the skylights in the ceiling. When the canisters hit the ground, they began to spew green smoke everywhere. Thankfully it didn't appear to be noxious, because no one started coughing. Someone did start bellowing a loud laugh though.

"Oh boy." Peter said. He didn't have his MK. 3 Spider-Armor. It was still at Horizon.

 **AN: So what did you all think of this chapter. Big thanks to the big three who always review: Celgress, NeoTyson, and Highlander.**


	14. Arc 2, Chapter 3

**AN: Hey everyone. Two words at the end of the Civil War trailer and the whole internet (myself included) loses it's collective shit. It was awesome. First of all, everyone give a small golf clap to Highlander for accurately predicting that something was going to go down at the art expo that I have been fore shadowing for the past several chapters. Aside from that, did any catch the nearest thing that I could make to a Stan Lee cameo in the last chapter? I though someone would've mentioned that.**

Chapter 3

The gas continued to fill the gallery. The ominous, opaque green hue limited peoples vision as it slowly filled from the floor to the ceiling. Despite danger, people seemed rooted to the spot they were standing in. The bellowing laugh that was going on continued to echo.

Felicia had a look of panic on her face. "What going on?" She asked.

"Don't know yet." Peter said. "Get everyone out first."

"I've got my mask in my purse. Can't we fight?" Felicia asked.

"Not this time. I don't have my armor, and trust me, everyone will remember that dress you're wearing. Get every out, then maybe we can fight." Peter explained as he turned around to help.

He dashed into the smoke, losing sight of his girlfriend. The sounds of shouts and screams began to come from the people in the gallery. Peter was looking around for the source of the fear when he was attacked by the strangest thing. A winged creature flew over Peter's head. It was something out of a Dark Ages nightmare with stone colored skin and a jaw full of teeth. When it came back around, Peter was able to recognize it. It was a Gargoyle.

"Huh. That's new." Peter said. He wasn't in the position to fight, at least not without revealing his identity. So he turned around and continued to go into the smoke.

People continued to scream and shout. The smoke was so thick at this point that Peter couldn't even see his hand in front of his face. Remembering the way to the front door, Peter eventually found his way to the exit. He threw open the door and the smoke began to vent out just a little.

"Everyone over here. The exit is this way. Peter called.

People began to move out of the gallery slowly. Peter went back inside to start leading people out. The smoke was still too thick to see clearly, and Peter needed to know more about who was attacking the gallery. As he went through the gallery he thankfully heard more people moving toward the door. The laughter continued, and as Peter continued to look around, he saw a figure in the smoke moving.

* * *

Felicia had found several people and pointed them in the direction of the exit. Naturally they started to move in that direction. Felicia continued to stumble through the smoke, wishing that she could don the Black Cat persona and do more, but Peter was right, and they needed to keep their identities secret. That meant having to save the day as regular old people.

Felicia continued to wade through the smoke and came across someone who she didn't expect. May Parker was huddled up against a wall. Closing her eyes. The poor older woman was probably terrified.

"May!" Felicia called out.

"Felicia." May stated.

"Follow me out side." The younger woman said. May was too important to just say where the exit was. Felicia needed to make sure that she was safe.

"You'd like to be the hero wouldn't you?" May questioned with disdain.

"What are you talking about? Follow me." Felicia pleaded.

"Sure. You save me and win Peter's affection."

"What are you talking about?"

May then did something impossible. Another one of her appeared behind Felicia. "You're trying to prove you're good enough to be with him."

"What's happening?" Felicia said scared.

A third May showed up out of the smoke. "The truth is, you're not good enough to be with Peter."

"That's not true!" Felicia defended.

"Oh but it is." A fourth may said coming out of the smoke. "A harlot such as you doesn't deserve to be with my Peter."

Felicia then had an epiphany. "This isn't real."

"Oh but you're feelings are." The Mays said simultaneously. "You're just a former thief that is running around pretending to be better than what you are. A sinful little tramp who gets off seducing a man until the next exciting thing comes along."

Felicia fell to her knees and started to sob. "That's not true. I…I…" she stammered. She tried to deny what The Mays were saying. But deep down, she was afraid they were right.

* * *

Peter walked after the figure. The laughter had died down to a chuckle. Peter didn't know who it was yet, but he was going to find out. As he walked, a screech filled his ears. Peter ducked on instinct, and just in time as the Gargoyle from before buzzed over his head. Peter didn't know what it was doing here, or how it got here, but he figured that it had something to do with whoever that figure was. Peter got back up and ran after.

A short distance later, Peter finally got a good look at who was the figure in the smoke. The man was tall, wearing a green jumpsuit, yellow gloves and boots, a purple cape, and a reflective glass helmet. The man was Quinten Beck, better known as the villain Mysterio. A villain obsessed with occult and other worldly power.

Mysterio repertoire of skills and toys were entirely theatrical and sleight of hand. He employed animatronics, holograms, pyrotechnics, and hallucinogenics in order to confuse, disorient, and scare people. Knowing this, Peter knew that whatever was going on around them wasn't real. Robots and explosives could still hurt. But there was no such thing as monsters as far as Mysterio was concerned. Peter wasn't Spider-Man though at the moment. He couldn't fight Mysterio, all he could do was watch, and hope that the Gargoyle was all in his head.

Mysterio walked up to a painting of an old man. "Ahh. At last. A John Dee manuscript. At last. Other worldly powers will be mine." He said, savoring the moment. Myterio then cut the canvas of the painting right out of the frame and stuffed it into a cardboard tube.

Now Peter knew who was the thief what he was after, and why. Peter could now begin to plan how to stop him. Just as soon as he got out of the art gallery. Peter turned around and began to get out. As he walked through the museum he came across Felicia, but not in the manner he expected.

Felicia sat on the floor, covering her eyes and sobbing uncontrollably. Peter crouched down next to her.

"Felicia." He said gently.

Felicia opened her eyes. "No, no. Peter. Please don't go. I'm sorry." She pleaded.

Peter didn't know what happened, but he figured that it was probably something in the gas that put her in this state. He'd get her head right, but first he needed to get her out.

"I'm not gonna leave you babe. I'm gonna get you someplace safe." Peter said as he grabbed Felicia by her upper arm.

Peter led Felicia out of the art gallery. Out on the side walk in front, police had gathered to form a barrier between the street and the gallery. Paramedics were on scene to give oxygen and medical assistance to those who needed it. Peter began to bring Felicia over to a nearby ambulance when she put her hand on his chest.

"No. Peter. I just want to go home. Not you place. Mine." Felicia said plainly. She stared blankly into space.

Peter knew trauma when he saw it. Safe spaces were important in those instances, or the victim would shut down completely. Peter nodded his understanding and proceeded to take off his jacket, put it on her and wave down a taxi.

While doing so, Aunt May appeared out of nowhere. "Peter. Are you okay?" She asked.

"Yeah. Fine. Felicia's shaken pretty bad though." Peter explained.

"What happened in there?" May asked.

"Don't know. But I need to get Felicia to her place." Peter said and turned around and got Felicia into a taxi.

"Peter!" May said as the taxi drove away. Jay walked up to her. "I don't understand Jay. Peter used to make sure that I was okay when these events happen. Now all he cares about is that woman." May said with disgust.

"Has it occurred to you he may care about her more than anyone else?" Jay asked innocently.

May just stood and stared at him.

* * *

Felicia's Midtown apartment was very different than Peter's SoHo one. Whereas Peter's apartment was colored with browns and greens and reds, and there as plenty of electronic odds and ends, textbooks, and everyday clutter. Felicia's apartment was black granite and leather, near white beige carpet and walls, glass tableware. It was fastidiously clean as well, likely from a regular cleaner.

"I'm going to the bath room." Felicia said plainly.

Peter just watched her as she went through a doorway to the master bedroom and bathroom. He was worried about her, but she would speak her mind when she was ready. In the meantime, he would be ready, and be productive. Peter went into the bedroom and over to a drawer. He pulled out a spare mask to hide is identity and then his Avengers ID card and made a call while Felicia was in the bathroom.

Sam Wilson, better known as the Falcon answered on the second ring. "Spidey. How are you?"

"Been better." Peter sighed.

"Sorry to…PUT THAT DOWN!" Falcon yelled. A crash could be heard in the background.

"What's goin on?"

"Deadpool's here trying to get more weapons." Falcon said with annoyance.

"What? Why?" Peter asked.

Deadpool then appeared in the view of the camera. "Because my regular arms dealer is dead. That, and the author has been trying to find a way to write me in as a cameo since my record breaking movie came out." The masked mercenary said with overabundant glee.

"I don't want to know about whatever videos you're putting on the internet." Peter said with disgust.

"HAHAHAHA. You're funny." Deadpool said laughing. He then looked over to Falcon. "Imma take the AA-12 shotgun and 200 rounds of FRAG ammo, the HK417 with 1200 rounds, 16 M14 incendiary grenades, a flintlock musket, and this rubber chicken. Do you mind if I pay you in a combination of Swiss francs and reclaimed blood diamonds?" he asked.

"Just go…please." Falcon pleaded.

"All right. I'll see you at the next world crisis or company party. Bye Spider-Man." Deadpool said.

When Deadpool left Falcon looked at Peter. "There's something wrong with that guy. What can I help you with?"

"I need to get ahold of Stephen Strange. I need his help. Mysterio was after something involving a guy named John Dee. If this were one of his regular theatrical shows to intimidate people for profit, I could handle it no problem. This seems more along the supernatural lines, and I could use some expert advice." Peter explained.

"Will do." Falcon said professionally and cut the video link.

Peter put the ID card back in his pocket and took off the mask. He heard a door open behind him. He turned around and saw Felicia in a pair of grey sweatpants and a black tank top. She crawled into bed and under the covers without a word.

"Felicia. You wanna talk about it?" Peter asked caringly.

Felicia thought for a moment. "Just hold me." She whispered.

Peter stripped down into his boxers and crawled into bed with her and did as she requested. They two went to sleep without saying any more.

 **AN: Ha. I fooled everyone. It's not the Green Goblin. It's Mysterio. Also I recognize this was an emotional chapter for Felicia, but trust me, I'm going to use it for character development. Also Deadpool. That movie was awesome.**


	15. Arc 2, Chapter 4

**AN: So I got this chapter out real quick because I passed what I consider to be two very significant milestones with this story. This is my first story to have over 50 favorites, and over 10,000 views. Thanks to everyone who keeps coming back again and again to read. Chief among them as always if NeoTyson, Celgress, and Highlander for their non'stop support and reviews. I would also like to thank kobevilla who has also begun reviewing regularly now as well. Hope you all enjoy this next chapter.**

Chapter 4

Peter woke up around his normal time next to Felicia's sleeping form. The blinds were drawn tight to keep out the harsh morning light from an eastern facing window. The thick bedsheets kept the occupants warm and safe. Peter looked over to Felicia to observe her current state. The gentle rise and fall of her chest matching the calm and comfortable nature of the bedroom that morning. Peter decided that after the events of last night, it would be better to let her get as much sleep as she needed and wanted.

The young man slinked his way out of bed and gathered up last night's formal wear into a pile to take away later. He then walked into an attached walk in closet and walked up to the massive dresser that was stationed inside. He pulled out a set of jeans, and a green long sleeve t-shirt, just some of the clothing that he kept a Felicia's apartment in case he spent the night. Prepared for the morning, Peter crept out of the bedroom.

Peter decided that until he talked with Dr. Strange, there wasn't much he could do by way of Spider-Man, but there was plenty of things that he could do as Peter Parker. The first priority in his mind was breakfast for him and Felicia, the next was making sure Felicia was okay. This was her first encounter with Mysterio, and in the best case scenario it was confusing, in the worst case, it was absolutely terrifying.

Peter didn't know what Felicia went through however, so while he pulled out fruit, yogurt and English muffins, Peter went over the events of last night to prepare for future encounters with Mysterio. Fortune favors the prepared as they say.

The first thing that Peter remembered was that some type of aerosol gas was dispensed into the gallery. Right off the bat, that eliminated the use of holograms to scare people, as the smoke would prevent a clear three dimensional image from forming, and the gargoyle that Peter saw was very clear. Mysterio had created more advanced animatronics than that, so he would need to talk to Felicia about what she saw before he could narrow it down further.

After that, Mysterio went after what he called the John Dee manuscript. Peter did a quick search on the man and learned that he was a 16th century scientist…and occult philosopher. Peter figured whatever occult stuff that Mr. Dee worked on, that was what Mysterio was after.

Peter started to set the table, and further analyze the situation. A manuscript in and of itself doesn't have any power. But they are directions of some sort. Whatever the directions led to, that was what Mysterio was after. That likely meant that Mysterio was likely going to be committing another theft or robbery.

Peter poured some orange juice into glasses to drink with breakfast. The next reasonable course of action would be to create some sort of anti-gen to whatever was in the gas, if indeed it was a hallucinogen. If it was just colored smoke, then all he would have to do was hit whatever he saw hard enough to break it. Peter smiled in self-satisfaction that he was able to break down situations to create a plan of action to stop super villains.

The door from the bedroom opened. Felicia walked out in the same cloths that she had slept in. The crestfallen look on her face revealing that her morning was not much better than the night before was.

Peter walked up to her and kissed her gently. "Hey." He said softly.

"Morning." Felicia said sleepily.

"How are you?"

"Better than last night." She said plainly.

"I got breakfast together."

"Thanks."

The two sat down and began munching on the basic breakfast. While Peter took large bites out of stuff, Felicia picked at her plate. Normally Felicia had a reasonable appetite after fighting criminals. This behavior continued to worry Peter, and he knew that he needed to get ahead of the problem. So he did it the only way he knew how, by being rational, and talking her through it.

"The guy who attacked the art gallery last night was Mysterio. I've fought him before, but that was your first time, right?" Peter asked.

Felicia nodded.

"He uses a combination of movie special effects and hallucinogens to scare and distract people while he commits his crimes. The first time that I faced him, I saw a werewolf. Scared me half to death. Last night I saw a gargoyle try to take my head off." Peter explained. "First couple of time I fought him, I didn't know what to do. It's worse because he makes his tricks so convincing, you swear they're real. But the important thing to remember is that they're not." He finished.

Felicia nodded again.

Peter waited for a moment. "What did you see?"

Felicia averted her eyes. She didn't want to talk about it.

"Felicia, I know that whatever you saw probably shook you to your core. But the more we know about what happened in there, the better we can prepare for the next fight." Peter said with care.

Felicia looked back as Peter. "I don't want you to know about what I saw. I don't want you to worry."

"Babe. I'm already worry because you're acting a little different. Talking to me will help eliminate that. I promise, whatever you saw won't make me think any less of you." Peter said as he pulled a chair up to Felicia. He gently grabbed her hand and used his other to lift her chin to look him in the eyes. "I promise."

Felicia just stared at him for a moment. Then she nodded.

"I saw your Aunt May." Felicia said.

"Okay. What else did you see?" Peter gently inquired further.

Felicia's lips started trembling. "There were so many of her. She was saying that I wasn't good enough to be with you. That you deserved someone better." She leaned into Peter's shoulder and clutched the front of his shirt.

Peter embraced her. "Shhh. It's okay. How many of Aunt May were there?"

"There were like…four."

"See. That's not possible. There's only one Aunt May." Peter said confidently.

"Yeah. But I'm worried that they were right." Felicia whispered.

"Babe. I saw a monster last night. Whatever was in that gas brings out an irrational fear." Peter had at this point sufficiently ruled out that Mysterio was using robots. "I know that what you worried about is silly because you are a smart, determined and beautiful woman, and I'm sometimes worried that you're too good for me." Peter said lovingly.

Felicia pulled away with a small smile. "So were both in this relationship because we both think we can't do any better."

"Well I know I can't." Peter said with a small laugh. "As much as Aunt May thinks that I should run back to Mary Jane, I disagree with her."

Felicia smiled a little wider.

"Now. You actually helped narrow down what Mysterio is using in his crimes. I need to go to Horizon and synthesize a counter agent, which shouldn't be a big deal, I think I have the chemical formula on record somewhere." Peter separated himself from Felicia and moved toward the front door. "We'll meet up after I get off in the afternoon. Remember. We strong enough to beat him, and whatever fears we have while were in the gas, aren't real." Peter said. He waited for a response from Felicia.

"Okay. We got this." Felicia said. Though it wasn't as strong as Peter would have like, there was far more strength in her voice than before, and he took that as an improvement.

* * *

Felicia was on her way to the gym in her building. She was dressed in a black sports bra with black running shorts, dark running shoes and her hair pulled back in pony-tail. The gym itself was a fairly upscale set up, catering to the wealthier demographic in the area. So in addition to the usual weights, cardio and pool, there was a full staff of classes, personal trainers, and dieticians on staff for those who wanted them. Due to Felicia extra ordinary night life, such assistance wasn't needed, but the offer was still there.

Felicia dropped her duffle bag in locker and walked over to a stair climber and turned it on. The televisions at the front of the cardio room displayed a number of channels but the one that caught her attention was a New York City news channel that wasn't the Daily Bugle going over the events last night at the art show. The reporter wasn't telling her anything that she didn't already know, but the sight of the news reel still filled her with worry and uncertainty about Mysterio's plans and abilities.

In her time with Spider-Man as Black Cat, they had dealt with a wide variety of threats. These were all staged very much in the real world. Organized crime, armed thugs, high end thieves, corrupt officials, and even mad scientists and super villains. All of these threats could be proven with science and defeated in the same manner.

Mysterio used a different bag a tricks though. At the simplest level he was an illusionist, but sometimes he managed to get his hands on actual power from other places not rooted in the world of science. That was when he became a genuine threat, as was the case now from Felicia point of view. The only time Felicia had seen what the caped super criminal was capable of, was when Doctor Octopus tried to accelerate global warming, when he destroyed several city blocks, but made it look like a small country was obliterated. Even though Mysterio's faked destruction of Sarkovia wasn't real, to the extent he made it look, it was good enough to fool Felicia who was watching it on a T.V. halfway around the world in New York.

This matched up with what happened last night. Even though what Mysterio was doing wasn't real, the feelings of terror, loss, and doubt were. That was what scared Felicia. Even right now as she worked out and tried to relax, even after Peter comforted her, she remembered that she was afraid that Peter would decide to leave her because she wasn't good enough. Like so many illusionists, magicians, and confidence men before him, Mysterio had used things that weren't there, to trick people into having real feelings.

The only thing that scared Felicia more at the moment, was what could happen if Mysterio gained an actual version of the power that he usually faked to have. What feelings of terror could he inspire then, and what more damage could he do to a person? What would be his next big move after that?

Felicia shook her head and turned some music on her phone and popped in a pair of headphones. She decided that she wouldn't ask those questions until she might have an idea of what the answer might be. She smiled a little bit at that though. Even though she was out of her element, she wouldn't let irrational fear determine her course of action.

 **AN: So I felt like Felicia would be a bit out of her element when dealing with more paranormal stuff. This is actually going to be looked at more in depth as I progress with this story in a way I hope you all find interesting. Thank you all again for your support.**


	16. Arc 2, Chapter 5

**AN: I've just been lazy. Sometimes you just go through a period where you want nothing more than to do the bare minimum in life and let other people work. As far as writing this chapter went, I had to do more research for this chapter than I originally intended, including: brushing up on my Pharmacology, Astronomy, and doing further research on John Dee (who is a real person). With more research than usual to do, being unsatisfied with the first several drafts, and not feeling like doing anything more than watching TV after work, this chapter took a while. Also, to Chimera629, Black Cat didn't date Michael Morbius in the comics like she did in the 90's cartoon. Big thanks again to NeoTyson, Cellgress, Highlander, and now Kamer Rider Tigon for all of you continued and enthusiastic support.**

Chapter 5

Peter looked up relieved from his workbench. He had finished the prototype of a new invention that he had created to fight Mysterio. Once again, Peter was enormously glad he had access to a full lab now to help fight villians. Before he worked for Max Modell and Horizon Labs, if he used his vast scientific knowledge, he needed to scrape together chemicals, compounds and solutions to get stuff, and most things that he needed didn't come out of a hobby chemistry set.

His employment at a major lab allowed him to easily acquire more restricted materials, in this case, benzodiazepines. These were downers that were commonly used in anti-anxiety medicines. The gas that Mysterio used was some kind of panic including amphetamine. The best way to cancel out the upper in his gas was to use a downer. At least in theory. Given the way that different people react differently to drugs based on everything from body type to lifestyle and medical history. Still, with his altered metabolism, Peter wasn't going to experience the same level of panic that Felicia would, and this would help.

"This issss the Periodic Table, noble gasses stable, Halogens and Alkali react aggressively." Peter sang gleefully. Science made him happy. Even with trouble in his life, he loved experiments, inventing, and discovering.

Peter's current project was an inhaler that could administer a benzodiazepine. Basic pharmacology was that compounds that were inhaled were the most effective because they had to go through the least amount of membranes before they had an effect on the body. Because Mysterio deployed his chemical in a gas to be inhaled, the only real way to fight it was to administer the medication in a similar fashion.

Peter set down the tiny allen wrench and looked at the small orange device. He examined it carefully with a frown creased his face. "I should probably make this black. Shouldn't I?" He asked to himself.

# # #

Peter walked into Felicia's apartment, duffle bag of Spider Armor on one shoulder and a messenger bag on the other. "Felicia!" he called out. "It's me."

"I'm in the kitchen." Felicia called.

Peter set his duffle down by the door, and walked deeper into the apartment. He strolled into the kitchen and saw Felicia at a breakfast bar. It was near dinnertime and she had fixed herself a small chicken salad that she was in the process of consuming. Unlike Peter, who took a certain joy in eating food in the most expedient way possible, Felicia preferred to make sure that her meals were well consumed with poise and grace.

"I've got something for you." He said walking up to her.

"What is it?" She asked after swallowing her current bite.

Peter held out the inhaler for her to see with his thumb and index finger. He explained what it was and what it was supposed to do. Felicia nodded her head in understanding as he talked. She silently thanked him that he kept his explanations to a high school level, so that she could understand. Not many people understood or cared about the critical function of the benzene ring in a benzodiazepine.

After taking the inhaler and putting it in a nearby purse, Felicia looked back over to Peter. "So what's our next move?" she asked eagerly. Peter's attempt to help her had revived her confidence.

"Well I tried to call for some expert advice on stuff like this." Peter said.

"Who?"

Peter opened his mouth to respond when a flash of light from behind him caused him to flinch. He turned around and saw Dr. Stephen Strange, The Sorcerer Supreme. Peter sighed.

"Mr. Parker. We haven't really talked since you asked me to help conceal your identity. How my I help?" Dr. Strange asked.

Felicia stood with her mouth agape at the stranger who stood in her kitchen. Just when she started to get a hold of her world back, she had to deal with this intrusion of privacy into her personal sanctum.

"What the hell Strange?" People yelled shocked. "Ever hear of knocking?"

"Ah. Apologies." Dr. Strange said bowing his head slightly. "I am not actually here, I am projection my aura to your location. I did not mean to intrude."

Felicia got her attitude together just enough to mark her territory. "Who the hell are you and what the hell are you doing in my apartment?" She interrogated.

"My apologies ma'am. I am Doctor Stephen Strange. I am here to assist." The elderly man said.

"With what?!" Felicia said, freaked out and annoyed.

"Mr. Parker asked me to assist with a man named Myterio."

"Oh." She muttered embarrassed.

Strange looked over to Peter. "Now, what do you wish to know?"

Peter explained the events of the attack on the art gallery, and how the purple caped criminal was after a manuscript by a man named John Dee. Dr. Strange listened and when Peter finished, he had a small grin.

"That's all?" Dr. Strange asked.

"Well…yeah." Peter stated with a pause.

Strange smiled. "The good news is that any powers that Mysterio may acquire from reading John Dee's work will likely me minimal. In the same way that Copernicus's and Galileo's astronomical observations are taught to elementary school children today, the powers discovered by a 16th century, British alchemist are basic studies for sorcerers in this day."

"Okay, but why did he still steal a pointing? He was looking for a manuscript?" Peter asked.

"Dee is known to have been a fairly vain and arrogant man in his own way. He was an advisor to Queen Elizabeth the first. I imagine that he hid results of his experiments on one of his own pictures to service his own ego." Strange explained.

"So what do we have to worry about? Is he going to destroy the city or something?" Felicia asked.

"No nothing like that." Strange said, waving his hand to dismiss fear. "John Dee created glyphs to summon, focus, and expel small amounts of energy, and well as obsidian scrying mirrors to communicate with beings not of this realm. He can direct some of the elemental energy in the area, if he has captured it. Nothing that should be much of a problem."

"Any other advice you can give?" Peter asked, trying to get an edge.

"No. Your knowledge of Mysterio is more valuable at this point than my knowledge of magic. After all, the magic will be used by the man." Strange said. He then disappeared from Felicia's kitchen without even saying goodbye.

"Yeah. Goodbye to you as well ol' buddy." Peter said with sarcasm.

Felicia flipped out. "What is this all about? What is going on? How did he do that?"

Peter took a deep breath. "Okay. As he said. He was here to help us. Strange is a sorcerer, and certainly knows more than we do about occult powers and alchemy and other thing like that. He just gave us a solid lead for what to look for." He explained. He was already on his phone looking for further information.

Felicia couldn't take it. She started sobbing quietly. This intrusion into her home was the last straw. Peter looked up from his phone and over to his girlfriend. When she noticed this she started crying openly.

"Hey. Hey. It's okay." Peter said moving to support her. "What's wrong?" He asked hugging her.

"This is all wrong. Monsters and magic. I don't know how to deal with it. And if I can't handle it, then I'm no good to you." She cried into his shoulder. "Your Aunt is right!"

Peter just held her for a second. Every once in a while he needed to remind himself that his life is far from conventional. Even an exceptional individual can find themselves overwhelmed if they weren't given support in his life. With her behavior after the art gallery, Peter should have prepared for this. He decided that now was not a time for secrets. Peter only kept a few from her, but she now needed to know how crazy his life could get, but that he would support her.

"Hey. I need to tell you something." Peter said.

Felicia looked up from Peter's shoulder. "What?" she sniffed.

Peter took a breath. "When you saw me on the rooftop before that race we a few days ago, I had just come back from an absolutely crazy adventure."

"What?"

"Yeah. I had just been in an interdimensional war with a bunch of other 'spider-men' and a group called the Inheritors. Spider-Men from across dimensions, from other Peter's, to some Spider-Women, a Spider-Pig, and even a reformed Doc Ock. We fought against a dimension hopping group of beings who saw us as a threat."

"Why are you telling me this? Is it this bad?" Felicia asked with a look of horror on her face.

"No. I hope to be giving some perspective. That trip was the single craziest thing I have ever done, by a long shot. And I was able to handle it." Peter said. "My life has some insane parts to it. Parts with aliens, and magic, and stuff that I don't even know what to call."

Felicia just stared at him.

"I freaked out some times. It's a normal response. Not all of us are as hard to phase as Nick Fury or Frank Castle." He reassured her. "I will help get you through this. This is easy. Mystrio is just a thug who has a unique way of intimidating his victims. You can do this." Peter said smiling.

Felicia looked back at him.

"If you're uncertain, that's fine. If you're uncomfortable, I get it. Been there, done that. You'll get over it. I know you will." Peter said lovingly.

Felicia smiled for the first time since the party. "If you can learn to handle being flirted with by me, then I can handle another bad guy with bad taste in fashion." She said with venomous cheer.

Peter did the impossible and smiled a little wider. Black Cat was back.

 **AN: One big change I made in my editing was to shorten up Felicia inner conflict. I was going to keep it around for another chapter or two, but it's just not as fun to write. While it may be brought up in dialogue how out of her depth Felicia is, her behavior will more or less return to normal. Feel free to review or message me any criticism you have. Even if it is negative.**


	17. Arc 2, Chapter 6

**AN: So I tried writing a different chapter to continue the story, and I basically burned it to the ground in the editing process. That's always a heartbreaking task. So in the meantime I wrote a little action chapter just to get the creative juices flowing and to keep practiceing writing dynamic action. I need more practice because there is a lot of it in my Agent Venom story and I can't quite get the scenes right. Anyway. I hope you all enjoy, and be sure to let me know what you think.**

Chapter 6

Spider-Man swung through the city towards the American Museum of Natural History. The night air helped to cool his skin under his armor just enough to keep from sweating. The lights coming from the cars, street lamps and the windows of buildings provided plenty of light to easily navigate the skyways of the city. Behind him Black Cat followed with a massive smile on her face.

The reason that they were going to the American Museum of Natural History was quite simple. Artifacts from the British Museum of Natural History were loaned to their American equivalent. Among these artifacts were personal and professional affects from John Dee. Being the massive nerd he was, Peter was able to find this information out in less than five minutes. The two heroes were out the window (because what self-respecting hero left out the front door and revealed where they lived?) shortly afterward.

"All right, were almost to the museum." Spider-Man said into his mask's radio connected to an earpiece that Black Cat wore.

"Good, but we might need to take a quick detour. Looks like a massive bar brawl one block over." Black Cat said.

Spider-Man looked over and sure enough, a bunch of guys in leather jackets and coats were in a massive group fist fight/mosh pit with another massive group of guys wearing clothing with various shades of purple. Luckily no one seemed to be shooting so that means that innocent civilians weren't likely to get hurt, but unless an entire precinct of riot police was dispatched, it was going to be hard to control this fight.

"All right. Let's loosen up and warm up before our fight with Mysterio." Spider-Man said and swung toward the fight.

"Who are these guys?" Black Cat asked.

"Guys in leather are the Dogs of Hell, biker gang. They're into guns, smuggling guns, extortion, insurance fraud, and the odd bit of cybercrime. The guys like they're paying tribute to Prince are the Rolling Sevens Gang. They do good ol' drugs and prostitution, with some illicit gambling." Spider-Man explained. "I wonder why their fighting." He asked quizzically.

"Who cares?" Black Cat said and dropped down.

Spider-Man followed. When the two hit the pavement, Spider-Man put a hand on Black Cats shoulder to keep her from just diving into the fight. This was certainly normal behavior for her, and it warmed his heart to see his girlfriend back.

"Wait a second. Give them a chance." He said to her. Spider-Man turn to face the mass of brawling bodies. "Your mother and I are very disappointed in you all. Stop fighting and go to your rooms NOW!" He yelled with as much fatherly authority he could muster. No one paid attention. Everyone kept punching and kicking.

"Yeah. We're wonderful parental figures." Black Cat mock sarcastically. She then tosses in some smoke grenades and when they detonated, she jumped in.

Spider-Man followed after. First he used his massive strength to jump over the brawl and landed on the other side. When he landed a biker and gangster noticed him. When they recognized him, the miraculous happened, they stopped fighting.

The wonder was short lived though. "Get the Bug Man!" shouted the Rolling Seven's member. The biker jumped with him to try and take down the 'Bug Man'.

Spider-Man juked left ducking the two men. He then shot a webline around the gangster and attached it to the biker. He then pulled the biker over on top of the other assailant. Now on the ground, Spider-Man dropped a knee the back of the biker, pinning the two. He quickly punched the two in the sides of the head, knocking them out.

"Seriously. Not bug. Arachnid. I know most of you guys didn't graduate high school. But maybe middle school biology?" he complained out loud to no one in particular. The only people who ever understood the difference with the mad scientist types.

The hero then pivoted to face another biker who stood over a beaten gangster. Because he was facing away, Spider-Man swept up behind him, and kicked him in the back of his right knee. Spider-Man then drew his arms around the bikers head in a rear naked choke. Spider-Man drew his shoulders back and in seconds, his victim was choked unconscious.

Spider-Man's next two targets were another set of fighting criminals. The biker was armed with a tire iron and the gangster a baseball bat that at least went with the purple Yankees hat he wore. The hero shot weblines at each of their feet. He then jumped up over a nearby lamp post and suspended them from their feet like a pair of ugly piñatas.

Spider-Man took a second to admire his good work. The second after that his spider sense flared. Like a champion limbo competitor, he bent back and dodged a haymaker punch from another biker. From his strange position, he shot another webline, catching the thug's fist. He then jumped up again and hung the third criminal from the same light post as the other two.

"Hat triiiiick!" Spider-Man shouted victoriously thrusting both fists into the air. This brought the attention of several other fighting felons. It seemed at this point they had learned that they needed to work together if they wanted to avoid a litany of assault charges they were now facing.

Spider-Man just stared them down everyone waiting for someone to make a move. Spider-Man moved his mouth. "C'mon guys. Can't you just come quietly? Like seriously, I hear that happens" He pleaded. The mob just stared back. "All right."

Spider-Man pulled a small canister from his belt. It looked like a smoke grenade with a red button on top. It was a web bomb that he had designed. Pushing the button mixed his web chemicals in the canister with an expanding propellant, rupturing the canister and saturating the area with webbing.

Spider-Man tossed his gadget and when it contacted with the ground, his enemies found them stuck in a familiar white fluid. "Stick around everyone." Spider-Man chuckled. Sure he ripped the pun/one-liner from the movie Predator, but classics were classics.

"Ah man. Not again." One of the Rolling Sevens whined.

"Ha ha. A repeat customer." Spider-Man said.

Sirens could be heard now and police stated to pull up. A male and female got out with their guns drawn and took a look around. Spider-Man also examined the scene to see who else needed to be dealt with. He had dealt with about half the people. Black Cat stood in the middle of the other half, who were all either knocked unconscious, or tied up with bolos.

"Damn. You two work fast. We got the call like three minutes ago." Said one of the cops with amazement.

"Happy to help." Spider-Man said. "Break out the flex cuffs and a spare pen. You two got a lot of paper work."

"Always good to see you work." Said the female cop. "Especially good to see you work." She said to Black Cat, eyeing her up and down.

"Always good to be appreciated." Black Cat said back, practically purring, and returning the oogling of the attractive woman officer.

The two men just stared.

"I just imagined them making out." The male cop whispered to Spider-Man.

"Uh-huh." Spider-Man grunted. Half of his brain was indulging the male fantasy of a threesome. The other half was reminding him that it was a bad idea.

A moment of silence later. Spider-Man focused. "Cat. Let's go."

"Ah fine." She sighed. "Have a wonderful night…officer." She said the last word in a matter that would undoubtedly lead to more dirty thoughts.

The two hero's swung away.

"You think that Spider-Woman, Captain Marvel, or Emma Frost would be down to spend some quality time with us?" Black Cat asked after a few blocks.

Spider-Man didn't respond. He was too busy trying to stay conscious as his blood flow was redirected from his brain.

 **AN: So after you all had to deal with Black Cat being all mopey, I decided that so good, unclean, highly suggestive statements from our favorite vixen in black would be a good way to make it up to you all. It was good for character development and drama, but this is easier and more fun to write. A bit about the gangs I used. The Dogs of Hell come from the MCU, where they have been in Agents of Shield and Daredevil, and the Rolling Sevens come from the game Spider-Man: Web of Shadows. And as is custom, thanks to Highlander, Celgress and Kobevilla. Another Big Thanks for the shout out from NeoTyson again in his own story that he is writing (which I can't wait for further updates).**


	18. Arc 2, Chapter 7

**AN: So, ghostface4 brought up that there is now way that Spider-Woman would be involved in the activities that Black Cat was suggesting. I agree. But I also think that it would totally be in character for Black Cat to suggest a threesome regardless. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this chapter.**

Chapter 7

The two hero's swung through the city. The NYPD having taken care of the gang fight, they were able to continue onto the American Museum of Natural History. Black Cat was spurned that her boyfriend had less enthusiasm for her proposition.

"Give me a good reason, per person, why they wouldn't go for it." Black Cat demanded while pouting and swinging. She was annoyed that Spider-Man was less receptive to a threesome than most, or pretty much all men.

"Spider-Woman doesn't like me much to begin with, plus I don't like the fact that she has those enhanced pheromones. I don't need to start going goo goo for another girl. Carol and I tried dating already, didn't work and that would be just awkward. Frost…I just don't want a telepath learnin' too much about our identities." Spider-Man explained.

"We already had one close call during the Superhero Registration fiasco. If your Probability Manipulation hadn't caused that power outage in the studio, the entire world would know who we are. I still had to ask Strange to Mind Wipe everyone who was there." He further explained.

"So Spider-Woman is defiantly out. We'll put down Carol Danvers as a maybe, and your argument for Emma doesn't hold water." Black Cat countered.

"What? Why?" Spider-Man asked incredulously.

"Former bad girl. Wealthy. Excellent taste in clothes and accessories. We have a lot in common. We have lunch when she's in the city." She said casually.

"WHAT?"

"Okay. We also have drinks and share secrets."

"HOW MUCH DOES SHE KNOW?" Spider-Man was on the verge of panic.

"Calm down. I didn't tell her your real name. So she either doesn't know, and if she peeked around in my mind, she didn't look for the information. Or if she did…while no evil doers have attacked you as Peter, so she hasn't let the secret slip. In any of those situations, she shown that she can be trusted." The heroine said.

"Wha…When…If…" Spider-Man stuttered.

"You interested yet?"

Spider-Man shook his head. He was about to brawl with an illusionist who was trying to get occult powers in order to commit crimes. He needed to focus on that problem and not on his base instinct to engage in carnal activities with as many women as humanely possible.

"We're a few blocks from the museum. Focus" Spider-Man said shaking his head.

"Are you telling me to focus on Mysterio, or Emma?" Black Cat said slyly.

"Ugh." Said the hero. Sometimes it was a challenge to be in a relationship with a bi-sexual, lithe, beautiful woman who could challenge all sense of chivalry.

* * *

When the duo reached the Museum of Natural History, a crowd had formed up outside the building. Fire engines and the fire department had created a barrier, separating the masses from the museum. The hero's landed on the ground and peered around. They found the fire chief and walked up to him.

"Hey chief." Spider-Man started. "What's going on?"

The older man was dressed in a yellow Nomex suit with a red helmet turned to face them. "Hey Spidey. We got reports of a gas leak in the museum. My guys haven't found anything though. We just going to shut off the main valve now and ventilate the area." The man explained

"We're going to check something out. This may not be a gas leak. Keep everyone back, it may still be dangerous." Spider-Man stated.

"I'm not gonna stop you, but that isn't the smartest idea. Said the fire chief with concern.

"Luckily I don't get paid for smart ideas." The hero said jumping over the barricade and to the front door.

Black Cat followed him. "That's actually exactly what you get paid for at Horizon." She said in a confused tone.

"Yeah, but that's my day job, or night job, or whenever I'm there."

Black Cat just smirked at his cleverness.

The two walked into the lobby and looked around. The room was dimly lit, but still provided enough light in order to see the plaque listing off the prices for various ages. It was later in the evening, and even though there wouldn't be very many people, there still should have been some. It was still strange to see it devoid of all life.

"Man. Being alone in a museum all by myself. If these were different circumstances, I'd be ecstatic." Spider-Man said whimsically.

Black Cat giggled.

"What?" he asked quizzically.

"You're such a nerd." She said still giggling.

Spider-Man smiled. "If you liked that, than watch this."

He pulled out his Avenger ID card and opened up a menu. Since receiving the micro super computer, he had made small additions and enhancements to the base model. He activated a sensor suite that was connected to the MK. III Spider Armor. A quick examination of the readout revealed what was going on.

"The air in here is normal, but there's traces of mercaptan." He said.

"What's that mean?"

"Mercaptan is an additive that gives natural gas its oder. In its natural states, natural gas can't really be smelt, so for safety, gas companies add it so people can smell when there's a leak."

"So how'd it get in the air?" Black Cat asked.

"My guess is that Mysterio pumped it in to scare people. It's a lot easier to commit a crime if everyone is scared the building will blow up because thry'll leave." He analyzed.

A menacing cackling could be heard as it echoed from somewhere within the halls of the museum.

"Very good Spider-Man." Came the voice of Mysterio. "As always, you've deduced my plan. Not that you can stop me know."

An explosion of a smoke bomb filled the room with green gas and Mysterio appeared from within. Fire had enveloped his hands, as though he was imitating The Human Torch.

"C'mon man." Spider-Man pleaded with knowing arrogance. "You don't seriously expect us to fall for that."

His confidence inspired Black Cat as she dropped low into a fighter's stance. If he wasn't worried, then she sure had no good reason to be either.

"You're burning butane or some kind of other flammable gas through a hidden valve and you're wearing protective gloves." The hero finished proudly.

The man in the glass helmet just stood in his place with the fire flickering faintly. He then flicked his fingers and the flames flash froze forming a frosty layer of ice. "How do you explain that?" Mysterio asked.

"Ummm…wrist controlled tremble switch that administered spray liquid nitrogen." He said uncertainly.

Black cat was tired of the exchange at this point. She leaped over him and tried to kick Mysterio in the chest. He just dodged out of the way.

"Cat, slow down." Spider-Man ordered.

"But it's too late for her." Mysterio said as he waved his hand. From seemingly now where, a werewolf came from the smoke.

The beast was covered in crown fur and stood seven and a half feet tall on its hind legs. Brown eyes glinted with anger and mirth. The mouth full of stained teeth and claws were its apparent weapons. It roared and began to charge at Black Cat. Luckily she dodged it with a cartwheel.

"Cat, use the inhaler!" Spider-Man advised.

Cat pulled the small black tube off her belt, put it in her mouth, depressed the button on top, and inhaled the puff of medicine. She looked at the nocturnal predator charging at her again.

"It's still here." She yelled as she rolled out of the way.

"That means it's not a figment of our imagination. Prob'ly a robot." Spider-Man yelled back as he joined the fight.

Spider-Man shot a wad of web at the feet of the animatronic. This caused it to fall over with a resounding crash. The wolf was briefly distracted by the webbing, which it was cutting off with its claws. While escaping, Spider-Man jumped on the monsters shoulders, wrapping his legs around its head. The arachnid covered its eyes in more webbing and began to punch at its face. The werewolf howled and barked, eventually throwing him from his mounted position.

Black Cat came behind and started to claw at the body of the beast. Slowly, the hair and skin began to peel back and reveal metal. "You're right, it's a robot." She yelled. She planted an EMP from her belt of tricks on the animatronic.

The heroine did a backflip off of the false creature. The EMP detonated but the foe didn't fall. Black Cat looked over to her boyfriend for some advice. Spider-Man understood that she was looking for direction. It was hard to tell at this point where Mysterio's trick was magic or scientific. Luckily He had experience with both, and this was science.

"Skin's rubber. Insulates against EMP's. Attack the leg's just below the knee. Weak point for robots." He quickly explained.

"Got it."

The two moved from opposite sides of the beast and stuck at the same time. Black Cat lashed out with a spin kick, attacking the back of the right knee, and Spider-Man piled into the font of the left knee with a super powered elbow strike. The perfectly precise and timed attacked worked and the monster fell to the ground spinning.

The duo backed away as the werewolf roared in anger, but was ultimately harmless because the worst it could do now is shake around on the floor. Spider-Man looked around for Mysterio while Black Cat basked in their victory. He noticed that an overhead window was open, with a faint trail of vapor leading out.

"Cat. Mysterio left through the roof. We need to catch up." He said as he web zipped upward.

"Wonderful. Cats love to play with their prey." She said menacingly and followed.

 **AN: So the next chapter may take a little while to get out for a couple of reasons. First, Operation: Dust Line just came out for Rainbow Six: Siege, and the new Doom game just came out, so I'll be busy playing those. On top of that, I will be getting a surgery next week, and may or may not be able to write. anyway. Thanks as always to kobevilla, Celgress, Highlander, and NeoTyson for their endless support and enthusiasm.**


	19. Arc 2, Chapter 8

**AN: Woohoo. Another chapter up. So I was going to give a originally put a little bit of dialogue to give myself a break from the action chapters, but I decided to challenge myself again and try to improve my descriptions of dynamic movement. So I wrote this little bit, and dialogue will be in the next chapter...maybe. The more I practice writing action, the better I get, and the more I like doing it.**

Chapter 8

Spider-Man found himself on top of the American Museum of Natural History. A quick look around the sky above him and he saw his target. Mysterio was flying away…on a cloud. An actual formation of condensed water vapor supported the weight of the wacky wizard as it went westward toward Broadway. Black Cat came up out onto the roof and immediately started chasing after the villain.

"Cat. Wait. We need a plan!" Spider-Man shouted.

"I do have a plan!" Black Cat shouted back.

Spider-Man jumped off and began to swing after the pair ahead of him. "What would that be?"

"Catch him." Black Cat said plainly without looking back.

'That's not much of a plan' Spider-Man thought to himself. Still he wasn't going to let Mysterio get away, so he would concede that he plan was…a good start. So he continued to swing after.

"Mysterio. Give up peacefully." Spider-Man demanded.

Mysterio turned around and started to flay backwards on his cloud. "Here you go." He said and started to throw fire at the people pursuing him.

The two hero's easily dodged the pyrotechnic projectiles. "Any ideas on how to explain that?" Black Cat asked, trying to be snarky.

Spider-Man laughed. His knowledge as a mild mannered scientist was still relevant. "Similar to before. Except instead of sprayed as an aerosol, the fuel is mixed as a fluid with oil and either Lye or Sodium Hydroxide. That'll turn it into a crude napalm. High enough of a ratio of the last two chemicals, and it will go from being a gel two a soap like consistency. Then all you have to do is throw the stuff at us." He explained with smug self-satisfaction. He knew that he was a know-it-all. He didn't always feel the need to show it, but when someone challenged him, he couldn't help it.

Mysterio laughed. "You're pitiful attempts to explain that which you don't understand are most humorous. Now face the power of the mystic arts!" He bellowed throwing more fire and brimstone.

"Coming from a guy on top of a goblin glider with a fog machine!" Spider-Man retorted.

Mysterio reached Broadway and started sail north. Black Cat followed with Spider-Man quickly behind her. The three were only a few stories above the ground, and there was still plenty of people on the street to see the spectacle of a super powered showdown. Cell phones below flashed as people took pictures and video.

"Looks like we're gonna' make the internet headlines tonight." Spider-Man said.

"Great. People will talk about us for a few minutes before moving on." Black Cat said.

"Let's make sure they mention me." Mysterio laughed.

The man with the green suit and the glass helmet started to throw fire down into the traffic below. Fire began to saturate the street below and people scattered for safety. Not everyone was able to escape the pandemonium and were trapped in the flames, in their vehicles, and in the chaos. Spider-Man saw them in trouble and reacted.

"Cat. Keep on him. I'll save them." He commanded.

"Got it Spider." The black clad Cat said.

Spider-Man dropped down to the ground and began to run through the street. The first thing he saw was a car on fire with a young woman trapped inside. The hero ran over to the vehicle and its prisoner. He grabbed the handle and tried to pull the door open, but the object gave no sway. So he punched out the window and used the opening to get a better grip before pulling the whole door off. Now that he knew the woman could escape, Spider-Man went to the next person that could be saved.

Spider-Man saw a boy trapped in an overturned car. He quickly shot a web line into the inside and yanked him out.

"Thanks Spider-Man." The boy said in awe.

"Stay safe in the streets next time if you can." Spider-Man said and kept moving.

His spider sense flared and he saw Black Cat dodging more flames from Mysterio. The fireballs passed by and started to rain onto the ground. Spider-Man jumped around and shoved paralyzed people out of the way of danger. The fires would have to wait for professional firefighters, or a superhero like Storm or Iceman, as Spider-Man didn't carry any kind of flame suppression agent.

After his scramble to save the most recent group of people, Spider-Man looked around and noticed that people had been getting out of the way. 'Good. Now I can get back to chasing Mysterio.' He thought relieved.

He jumped back into the air and stuck himself to the wall and began to run up it. When he reached the roof, he began to run. Yanking off the door, pulling out the kid, and saving the others had left his arms too tired to swing. So he ran along the roof tops and jumped from one to another. The only time that he used his arms was when he had to shoot a web line to pull himself over a side street he couldn't jump over.

The time lost in saving the other people put Black Cat and Mysterio about a block and a half ahead, and he was going to have to work to catch up. He had faith that his girlfriend could handle herself in the meantime.

* * *

Black Cat swung behind Mysterio. The grapples in the wrists of her gloves serving as her method of mobility. The strain in her arms was taking its toll, and she could begin to feel herself slowing down. Normally she didn't have to chase a bad guy, she and Spider-Man just caught them in a trap.

'Chalk this up as another new experience I've had with this creep.' Black Cat thought.

"Getting tired Kitty?" Myterio taunted.

"Didn't you know? Cats are predators, and we play with our food." She taunted back.

"Ha. Your verbal riposte needs some work. I'm sure the hero could have done better."

"And what am I then?" Black Cat asked angrily gritting her teeth.

Mysterio did a one-eighty mid-air. "You're the side kick." He taunted.

"GIRL FRIDAY." Black Cat yelled back.

"That's just a female side kick."

"Geez. First the Goblin in the orange cape, now the mystic in the purple cape. That's like all of the baddies standard response to that." Black Cat muttered to herself. "That's just gonna make the beating you're gonna receive all the more embarrassing." She then shouted.

Mysterio laughed and threw another fireball at her. He then turned around and began to speed away. The vapor trail from his cloud leaving an elongated tail behind him. In typical villain fashion he was cackling.

Black Cat took a deep breath and pushed herself hard, refusing to let the menace get away. She knew that she couldn't go much faster, but all she needed to do was keep the villain in sight. If she did that, then she could catch him when he stopped.

Then she had an epiphany. Maybe instead of thinking like a hero right now, she could think like a side-kick. Instead of chasing down the bad guy like Spider-Man, she should help him catch Mysterio. From a pouch on her belt, she pulled out a GPS tracker. She launched herself off her grapple onto a nearby roof, and loaded the GPS into the launcher onto her wrist launcher that normally launched her grapple.

The heroine carefully took aim at Mysterio. She smirked, and fired. She didn't see the tracker land but, she pulled out her phone, and turned on the GPS application.

"Yessssss." Black Cat hissed victoriously. As she watched Mysterio turn the corner, a red dot on the screen of her phone also turned the corner. "Score one for Girl Friday."

Spider-Man then landed beside her on the roof. "What's wrong? Are you okay?" He asked in a panic.

"Yeah. We don't need to rush now." Black Cat said holding up the phone.

"Oh." Spider-Man said. "Well, that means we can track him without seeing him…nice work." He finished smiling under his mask.

Black Cat smiled back.

"What's your plan now?"

"Same as before. Catch him." Black Car said and jumped off and started to swing away.

Spider-Man followed. "Sounds like a plan."

 **AN: So how did you all like the chase scene? I am personally pleased with how it came out, but I have a very clear bias. Anyway, look forward to my next update a few weeks from now, I'm still working on my Agent Venom story, and I want to make some more headway on that. Anyway, thanks as always to NeoTyson, Celgress, Highlander, and kobevilla. Oh, and good news, seeing as you were all concerned, after the appointment I had, turns out I don't need the surgery. The surgery was for for my eyes, and it turns out that I would just need reading glasses in about a decade anyway, so it's really not worth it. Anyway, thanks for all the love guys.**


	20. Arc 2, Chapter 9

**AN: Thank you all for being patient. I have been a busy bee in life these past few weeks. I hope to compensate you with a chapter with some banter, some action, and some plot progression. Have a nice day everyone.**

Chapter 9

Spider-Man and Black Cat followed the GPS tracker that she had placed on Mysterio. Keeping out of sight, the two were able to keep a constant distance without having to maintain eyesight of the flying felonious magician. The GPS indicated that Mysterio had been traveling all over the north side of Manhattan, darting in and out of side streets and alleys. Clearly he was a man who did not want to be followed. Spider-Man knew that technology could beat phony magic that Mysterio might be using couldn't beat his and Black Cat's cutting edge technology. Or at least he hoped that Mysterio was using phony magic.

The signal from the tracker led the pair to a small, decrepit cathedral. The old stone masonry was dark with age, but was chipped and worn down from years of wind, rain, and the other forces of nature. The stained glass windows, portraying theological images from various books within the bible were dirty and coated in a fine layer of dust. The plaque on the front door was covered in a layer of patina.

"Huh. Church." Spider-Man stated. "I wonder if this counts as my annual visit to the house of God."

"Wait. What?" Black Cat said confused.

"Aunt May's thing. I told her a while ago that I would go to church at least once a year. I try to keep up with it." Spider-Man explained.

"Yeah. I didn't really like Catholic School. Haven't been in a church since I got kicked out." Black Cat said.

Spider-Man turned his head to stare at his girlfriend. "Whaaaaaa…..?"

"Yeah." Black Cat started. "All the rules, and the codes of conduct. I just didn't really like it for the semester I was there."

"I can't see you at a Catholic School." Spider-Man said bewildered.

"Like I said. Only one semester. The only thing I liked was the uniform. Oh…and the spankings." She said.

The hero stared. Behind his mask his jaw was agape. "What…How…Where…" He stuttered.

Black Cat tucked he chin into her chest and smiled seductively. "I know I still have it somewhere if you want to see it."

Spider-Man continued to stare. "I…um…It's just…" He began to make dramatic hand gestures to the church. "CrackpotCopperfieldistillinthere." He finished in a rushed manner as he jumped up and weblined himself up to the bell tower of the church.

"Oh yeah. I gonna make you scream my name later." Black Cat said to herself and followed him up.

Atop the roof, the two clambered into the bell tower and anchored lines inside of the instrument of music. Before they descended, Spider-Man reached out and tapped Black Cat on the shoulder.

"What?" She asked.

"Remember, it might get a little weird in there, but it's not real. And if it's real, I'm here. If you get freaked out, just keep that in mind." He said reassuringly.

"Thanks Spider."

"Also, fear activates the Sympathetic Nervous System, so you'll probably kick more ass if you focus."

"Is that egghead speak for Fight or Flight?"

"Yep. Now time to reenact a scene from a 007 movie." Spider-Man said as he began to lower himself upside down into the cathedral.

Black Cat grinned. "That makes me a Bond Girl." And she followed.

The two descended down the narrow shaft. If the outside of the cathedral was worn, then the inside was dirty. Dust hung in the air like a light fog. The smell of animal feces could be detected, likely from either birds or rats. The dull howl of air running through the shaft added to the otherwise ominous silence of the night. The only thing that Spider-Man could admire was the intricate reliefs that were carved into the wall. Eventually the two reached the main hall of the church, and they were greeted with a disturbing sight.

The pale orange glow of dozens of lit candles illuminated the site of what many would consider to be a stereotypical satanic ritual site. The pews had been vacated to make room for a massive pentagram on the floor. A matching pentagram occupied the wall above the altar up front. Both appeared to be drawn using blood. The source of the blood was likely from a number of dead livestock rotting against the wall. The scent of decaying flesh was so awful that Black Cat started to gag and heave.

"Oh God. How are you so calm? Can't you smell that?" she asked.

"Yeah. But after you chase The Lizard through the sewer a couple of times and wind up getting thrown in a river of refuse…well…there may be something worse for your sense of smell, but I haven't encountered it yet." Spider-Man shuttered at the memory of being submerged in the foulest smelling concoction that may have ever existed.

"How did you get the smell out?" She asked

"Threw out the suit, bathed in tomato juice, scrub hard."

Black Cat looked at the GPS tracker and noticed that it was directing them to the alter on the stage at the front of the church. The two approached with caution as Mysterio was nowhere to be scene. Spider-Man and Black Cat jumped up on stage and did a quick investigation of the church centerpiece. The tracker in Black Cat's hands said that Mysterio was supposed to be right in front of him, but he was nowhere to be seen.

"Ah, fiddlesticks." Spider-Man muttered.

All of the dust in the room began to swirl and converge in the center of the pentagram on the floor. Manacle laughter echoed through the high ceiling. The temperature began to rise and the candles grew brighter. Then in a flash of red light, Myterio appeared. This time his whole body was on fire.

"See your doom. What possible reason could you have to interfere with the likes of a god?" Mysterio asked.

"Still just here to catch you for stealing art." Spider-Man said.

"Seriously? That's all?" Black Cat asked looking at her partner quizzically.

"Legally speaking, he can practice Paganism all he wants, and the sacrifice of animals is legal for religious purposes. Though the lack of disposal probably violates a health code and all these candles are likely a fire hazard. So yeah, were really just here for the art heist." He explained.

"Wow." She said amazed that all of this weirdness had gone on, and Mysterio was still just a thief.

"Enough talk. Face your demise." Mysterio bellowed. The villain threw his arms up in air. "Face the souls stuck in the fires of Hell!"

From the floor a number of skulls began to rise out of the stone floor. Like the man commanding them, they too were ablaze. But instead of laughing, these were all screaming and shouting in pain and anguish. Then with a bust of speed they flew directly at the hero's with the speed of a professionally thrown baseball. To superhero's who regularly avoided gunfire, they weren't fast enough to be a real danger. The sheer volume of the skulls was though.

Spider-Man assumed a fighters stance and began to pivot and duck to avoid the oncoming abominations. His Spider Sense alerted him of danger coming from every direction. Many he dodged, and every once in a while he would throw a punch or and elbow in order to destroy one of the airborne inflamed craniums. Each successful hit rendered the 'souls' reduced to a fine dust.

Black Cat didn't have the benefit of additional senses to detect danger, so the only thing that she could do was dodge the projectiles. He training as a world class gymnast allowed he to keep up her momentum. She flipped through the air, vaulted over obstacles, bounced off the walls, used her grapple to pull herself into the rafters, tumbled and rolled to safely land. The heroine resembled a pinball going for a high score in an arcade. Many on the skulls missed her, and some wound up crashing into the floor, walls, and ceiling with such energy they destroy themselves.

Eventually the number of flying objects began to dwindle. Spider-Man began to feel like it was time to press their advantage. "Cat. Time to make a move!" He shouted.

Both of them jumped into the center of the church where Mysterio was waving his arms and hands like a mystical shaman. Just as they were about to attack though, the area Mysterio occupied filled with smoke and engulfed all three of them.

"Now, now. Hero's are supposed to fight fair." Came the voice of the villain. "I however don't play by a hero's rules. Hahahaha!"

As the smoke cleared Spider-Man and Black Cat saw that they were surrounded by Mysterio's. Six in total. They were all identical, standing in a semi-circle around the duo. They were all posed differently. Some stood with their arms crossed, two had their hands on their hips, one was cracking his knuckles.

"You think you can fight us all?" They said simultaneously.

"Considering we just stopped a massive street fight earlier tonight, yeah. I think we can take you guys." Spider-Man said confidently.

Without hesitating he launched himself into the air, kicking into one Mysterio, jumping off him, and then elbow dropping the second one right next to it. Spider-Man didn't know which one was real yet, but it he would soon enough. Spider-Man threw and uppercut into the stomach of the third Mysterio. That one bend over and made a gasping sound. He then delivered a knee strike to the glass bowl that served as his helmet. Spider-Man then tuned and went back to fight the first Mysterio.

Black Cat started her fight dirty. The other half of the Mysterio's had turned to face Spider-Man and Black Cat used it as an opportunity to kick the first one in the genitals, and sucker punch the second one in the back of the head. While both of those copies were stunned, the last Mysterio turned to face Black Cat. She extended the claws built into her gloves and scratched the chest of the last opponent. A portion of green suit was torn away revealing a metal plate.

"Found a robot!" Black Cat called. She then used pulled a portable EMP generator from her belt and armed it. She jumped over the head of the confirmed robot and stuck the device between the shoulder blades. The device activated and the robot collapsed under its own weight.

"Huh." Spider-Man said. "I didn't expect that to be that easy. You figure he would have insulated all of his animatronics not just the one's earlier." He wondered aloud.

"Damn it." Black Cat muttered annoyed. "He got away." She turned to walk out the creepy cathedral. When Spider-Man grabbed her shoulder.

"What is it?" She asked.

"Somethings not right here." He answered.

"Yeah. Bad guy staged a satanic ritual to and mechanical clones of himself to buy time to escape." Black Cat sighed.

"Maybe. Let's start with what we know. You panted the GPS. We followed it." Spider-Man started. "Now whether or not the Mysterio you planted it on was real or not, the GPS still exists. And the tracker led us here. Following me so far?"

"Sure." She said.

"Now. If we find the GPS, we'll at least find the location he last was before he ditched it."

"Now the GPS was supposed to be on the stage but it wasn't there. But that's might not be true."

"Where are you going with this?"

"GPS's only measure along a two dimensional axis. Most stages have an open area underneath them for a band to play during plays and stuff like that." Spider-Man said.

"SO HE'S UNDERNEATH!" Black Cat shouted, completing Spider-Man's train of thought.

The stage then erupted in a shower of wood and stone. From beneath, Myterio emerged, but not like other others. This Mysterio was easily twenty feet tall. The sheer size of the man would freeze most people in intimidation, but not the two hero's he was opposing. Spider-Man jumped back to get some space, and Black Cat did a back flip.

"Mwahahaha." Mysterio laughed.

Black Cat could only stare dumbstruck. "Any ideas?" She asked meekly.

"Oh yeah. This is easy. Go for the legs. Specifically the ankles and knees." Spider-Man said.

"How do you know that?" Black Cat asked. The biggest thing she had ever fought was Kingpin. Even though Kingpin was large, he was nowhere near the giant size of Mysterio.

"Right. Right below the knees. Just like back at the museum." Black Cat stated remembering the fight earlier in the night.

The two hero immediately latched onto the legs of the green giant. Spider-Man began to fire weblines, attaching one side to each leg. The lines started out too thin, and Mysterio was able to break them just by walking around. So Spider-Man adjusted the nozzle of his web shooter, allowing for thicker webbing. The next series of lines held strong and the gigantic Mysterio began to stumble a little. His massive hands reached down to pull the webbing off, but Spider-Man prevented that by spaying a massive amount of fluid, turning Mysterio's appendages into what resembled massive oven mitts.

"No touching!" Spider-Man shouted.

Above Spider-Man, Black Cat was tearing onto the back of Mysterio's knees. Sure enough, there were hydraulics causing the massive legs to move, and indicating that the giant towering above them was indeed artificial. Less than two minutes of tearing apart the hoses in the joints, and the great green villain fell over with a crash though could surely be heard for blocks.

"Goddamn it all to Hell!" came an angry voice when the dust settled.

Spider-Man and Black Cat walked around to the 'head' of Myterio. The glass helmet had broken and inside was Quinten Beck, strapped into a chair with a control panel in front him, and various art and artifacts in a bag beside him.

"I will mphhhh…." Beck tried to say. Spider-Man had webbed up his mouth and then did the same to his hands.

"Cat, you wanna call…" Spider-Man started.

"Already on it." Cat said using an untraceable phone to contact the New York Police Department.

"Wonderful." Spider-Man said. "See like I said. None of it's real. At least as far as Beck's concerned." He said looking to Black Cat.

"I am so glad that that it over." Black Cat said. "Lets go before too many people show up."

"Agreed." Spider-Man said and followed Black Cat out the front of the church. "Yeah. This probably won't count toward my annual church attendance, I don't feel guilty about going in there."

 **AN: So this arc isn't done yet, there still needs to be some falling action. Then once again I'll be taking a break to write more story boards for another arc. I already have the general concept down as far as the main plot, but need to plan out pretty much all of the details. It will be different from the past two arc, but not radically so. It will just be a pretty straight forward story of good guys vs bad guys. Anyway, thanks a bunch to everyone for reading, following, and especially those who review (you know who you are at this point).**


	21. Arc 2, Chapter 10

**AN: Ahhh. The end to Arc 2. I really like the way this chapter turned out. It is hopefully something that you all have been waiting for and I know that this will be a solid ending for this arc. Big Thanks as always to NeoTyson, Cellgress, Highlander, and kobevilla, I always wait with bated breath for your input and support.**

Chapter 10

Spider-Man and Black Cat swung away from the church. The flashing red and blue light from the police cruisers that were on route to the crime scene. The two may have had the adoration of many of the law abiding citizens of New York City, but unlike the two officers that arrested the Dogs of Hell and the Rolling Sevens Gang, there was the occasional police officer that would arrest them for assault burglary, and vandalism. There were too many incoming sirens for the two to risk not running into a…highly dedicated officer of the law.

Several blocks later the phone in Peter's belt pinged, alerting him to a text message. He landed on a nearby roof with a soft 'thump' and pulled out the electronic communication device. Peter gazed at the screen to see who had sent him a message, and what they wanted.

 _Peter. Could I stop by your place tomorrow morning for coffee to discuss something with you in private? –Aunt May._

"Aunt May wants to meet up tomorrow morning." Spider-Man explained, showing Black Cat the text.

"Oh." Black Cat said. "Well looks like you're staying at your place tonight." She said as she stretched her hands above her head.

"You're not comin' over?" Spider-Man said. His tone was neutral, but his face was crestfallen behind his mask.

"No." Black Cat said. "My place is closer and this cat is ready for a nap." She explained. "Besides. She wants a private conversation."

"Alright." Spider-Man pulled up a portion of his mask and kissed her on the lips.

"Call me after work tomorrow. Okay?"

"Sure. Night babe."

"Night Spider."

Spider-Man texted a confirmation to his Aunt May, and jumped off the ledge to swing away back to his apartment, leaving his girlfriend to make her own way home. While swinging he was thinking about how proud that Black Cat had conquered at least some of her insecurities. At the art show last night, Felicia had been too scared to fight, but just a few minutes ago she got into a fight with what looked to be a swarm of demon inside a satanic ritual sight. In less than a day, she had conquered her fear of the paranormal, at least to the point where she was able to fight back. That was the thing that Spider-Man knew what counted in a fight. You can be scared of anything, but so long as you had the will to do what was right and fight, you could win.

Spider-Man agreed with the lesson his Uncle Ben taught him that with great power comes great responsibility, but he had learned himself that great power does not count for anything if you are not willing to take action. He liked to think that his Uncle Ben would have been proud of the fact that he was willing to use his powers, especially when he was scared.

Spider-Man reached his apartment, stuck to an outside wall, and opened a window to enter. His bedroom was dark from unused over the past two days. The stale smell of old laundry indicated that he would need to do some cleaning tomorrow.

He took of his mask to look around and examine the work that needed to be done. "Great." Peter mumbled to himself as he took off the rest of the Spider Armor.

He walked out of his bed room and looked around. The remains of the breakfast that Aunt May had cook when she visited a few day ago had yet to be cleaned from the counter. "Double great." Peter groaned. No way would he get out of that mess. He need to clean up tonight.

* * *

Peter woke up to a doorbell echoing through the empty space of his apartment. The _ding dong, ding dong_ was pleasant to hear, but its presence just as annoying as an alarm clock on a Monday morning. Peter looked over to his charging phone and saw that it was just after 7:30 AM.

"Damn." He said to himself. "BE RIGHT THERE AUNT MAY!" he shouted as loud as necessary.

Peter quickly scrambled over to the dresser and pulled out a pair of grey sweatpants and a blue t-shirt. The ring of the bell kept up at a slow but steady pace. Indicating that the person behind knew he was coming, but was going to be persistent in announcing their presence until he arrived to welcome them in. It was very much Aunt May's passive aggressive way of getting him to do what she wanted.

Peter bolted to the front door and opened it. Outside was Aunt May in a beige sweatshirt and blue jeans and tennis shoes.

"Peter. Good morning sleepyhead." Aunt May said with cheer.

"Morning Aunt May. Come on in." He said, stepping aside of the doorway.

Aunt May walked in and looked around the entry way. She noted that the dished were washed, and drying on the rack in the kitchen. There was no laundry in the TV area. The table in the dining area seemed washed and free of crumbs. The air still smelled musty and of cooked food.

"You cleaned?" Aunt May asked surprised.

"Yeah. A little, after you asked to come over." He said, shrugging his shoulders.

Aunt May walked over to the coffee machine, and turned it on. There was water as well as coffee grounds already in the machine, so it promptly started percolating and brewing.

"Is Felicia here?" Aunt may asked, continuing to look around.

"Nah. She's at her place." Peter said, sitting down at the breakfast bar.

"Good. I actually wanted to talk about her." Aunt May said, turning to face him at the counter.

"Ugh." Peter groaned.

"Peter. That's impolite." She critiqued. Aunt May pulled two coffee cups out of a cupboard, and then creamer out of the refrigerator.

"You know that I'm going to talk with her about this conversation if it's about her, right?" He questioned.

"Yes. I imagine you would. Part of the reason for the conversation."

"What are you talking about?"

The coffee maker dinged, announcing that it was done brewing. Aunt May reached for the pot, and poured the cups with creamer.

"What you said to me when I was here, about you being able to see a future with Felicia. That stuck with me. That's the first time I can recall you saying that about a woman. Even when you were head over heels for Gwen Stacy, you were hopeful for a future, but not certain. Felicia seems to be different to you." Aunt May surmised.

"Okaaaayyyyy?" Peter stated confused. "What do you want to know?"

"Tell me everything from the beginning." Aunt May said.

"Okay. I met Felicia at a charity banquet. The Bugle's regular human interest photographer was sick, so I got to cover down. Wore a suit and everything."

 _Spider-Man had met Black Cat a few days prior on top of a jewel shop. There had bring a string of high end thefts that had brought Spider-Man's attention to area._

"We were the only two people under thirty, so naturally, we got to talking. We mostly talked about ourselves, but we had lots of fun talking."

 _Black Cat flirted with him. She said that they would make an incredible power couple. They could have so much fun together she had said._

"Because the regular reporter was down for a while, I got to cover his stories, and we kept running into each other. Got to know each other pretty well."

 _Black Cat had gotten away the first time. But he had gotten her modus operandi. He was able to catch her in the act of stealing valuable jewels and art several more times over the next few weeks._

"Turs out her passion was art. She saw it as a way to educate people about culture. On top of that she was fun and exciting, at least she was to me. Mainly that because everyone else was a rich old person who worked in an office all day, and she investigated the authenticity of art, and appraised it. Turns out she had a working understand of forensic science when it came to art."

 _Black Cat went after hard targets. Priceless art. High end security systems. Things most other people would do a smash and grab to acquire, she could steal with minimal intrusion._

"I met up with her at a demonstration by Wilson Fisk for one of his charity events. She had a donation, Bugle sent me for pictures."

 _Black Cat had been stealing for The Kingpin. Kingpin had kidnapped her father who was a highly skilled thief. The massive man was making Black Cat steal to pay a ransom, but had double crossed her, and tried to kill him. When she found out, she reached out to Spider-Man to help get the stolen jewels and art back and bring him to justice._

 _The heist went almost flawlessly, until the explosion and the disappearance of Black Cat's father. Black Cat and Spider-Man barely escaped. The jewels were already stolen, but they had saved the art at least. Black Cat did manage to lift a diamond necklace though, but it was one that her father had left in his cell that was meant for her, so Spider-Man let Black Cat keep it._

"She was wearing this black dress that was absolutely captivating with this simple diamond necklace her father had given her."

Peter saw the necklace and recognized it. He put together then that Felicia Hardy was The Black Cat.

"I asked her out later, said I'd bring her on the best date of her life." Peter said proudly.

 _Peter took her out for coffee that night and said that she needed energy. Felicia though that he was being seductive. When they went back to her place, she went to change, but when she came back, Peter was in his black spider outfit._

 _"You weren't kidding about the best date of my life were you?" She asked in a skimpy black nightie. She was grinning, she had just put together that Spider-Man was Peter Parker._

 _"As good as that looks on you, you look better in skintight leather." He had responded._

 _"When we get back Spider, you'll see how good my leather looks on the floor."_

 _The two busted up an armored car hold up, and two muggings before going back to her place that night._

Aunt May had listened to Peter recount the non-super hero story. "Wait…you asked her out?" she asked in disbelief.

"Well…yeah."

Aunt May could see now how much Peter had gone through to win Felicia over. He had never done that with any other woman. Gwen was the one to ask him out. And May was the one to set him up with Mary Jane. Peter had won Felicia over all by himself though. Though she didn't outright approve of Felicia, she could see now that Peter had put in too much work for her to ruin the relationship between Felicia and Peter, or Peter and herself.

Aunt May set down her coffee and reached across the counter and held Peter's hand. "I see now. Peter. I promise. I will work harder to improve the relationship between myself and Felicia. Lord knows that you have been working to have a strong with her."

"That's all I want Aunt May." Peter said and smiled. Maybe this was the turnaround point he had been waiting for.

 **AN: So how do you all like my modified take on how Felicia and Peter wound up together? I'm gonna take a short break and finish up my Agent Venom Story. Then I'm gonna write the story boards for Arc 3. In the meantime, tell me what you all liked more as far as pacing went. The more drawn out events of Arc 1 that took place over a couple days and was had more conversation, or the more action oriented style of Arc 2 that pretty much took place in one evening? This will allow me to tool with the next arc's pacing into something that you will all like. Fell free to PM me with as much input as you desire before I start the next arc for the best results. Stay Classy everyone.**

 **NoirValor - June 2016**


	22. Arc 3, Chapter 1

**AN: And I'm back. Thank you for all being patient. For the past two months, I have been busy with work, and drafting story boards for not one, not two, but three stories. One of those stories is actually an original piece that one day I might try to publish. Part of the reason why I took on that challenge was of support from the people I know, including you all here for you compliments on this story, so thank you all for that confidence, but I expect that it will be the better part of a few years before I actually finish it. To the reviewer IAmN0tDead, please understand that this is _alternate universe,_ though your reviews have been noted for further exploration. Any way, I hope you all enjoy.**

Chapter 1

OG was pissed. Those damn bikers had inhaled too much exhaust apparently, and a few of the Dogs of Hell thought that it had been a good idea to make a run through Rolling Sevens territory a couple days ago. Those assholes had stopped at a bar where some Sevens had been at and thought that a fight was a good idea. The fight afterward had been stopped by the professional party crashers, Spider-Man and Black Cat. There was nothing the sevens could do about that, but DoH needed to learn some respect, and that actions had consequences.

Samuel Johnson, known in the Rolling Sevens by his title of 'OG' had ordered a drive by on a DoH clubhouse tonight. Being the boss, OG wasn't with them, but right now, three cars were driving in a line on the way to the bar famous for is loud parties, and louder motorcycles. In each vehicle was a driver, and three other gangsters with a combination of pistols, MAC-10s, sawed off shotguns, and one guy who had an AKMSU. The cars themselves were not the extravagant, tuned up, purple painted cars that the Sevens were known for, but three unnoticeable sedans that the gangsters could drive without alerting the bikers to their presence as they drove through DoH territory.

The three cars were getting close to the DoH clubhouse. The front passenger in the front car, a large man who went by the moniker Bulldog, for the large pet dog he had, loaded the AKMSU in his lap. He then sent out a text to the other cars telling them to 'get strapped'. The vehicles turned onto the street of their target. The drives slowed the vehicles to 10 MPH, and the passengers rolled down their windows.

The next 12 seconds were mayhem. The gangsters leaned out, or stuck their firearms out the windows and fired indiscriminately at the biker gang members, vehicles, and the building. The bikers dove for cover, sand some pulled out handguns and began to fire back. One pulled a sawed off double barrel and fired at the last car. Right before the last car passed someone threw a Molotov Cocktail from the car, a primitive fire bomb made from high proof liquor and a homemade fuse.

"Drive Nigga." Bulldog shouted to the driver as he rolled up his window. He then turned around to face the guys in the back seat.

"We all as one?" He asked, checking to see is everyone was okay.

"Shit. This shit always makes my ears ring. Damn." One of the Sevens complains as he was sticking his index finger in his ear.

"Shit. Just means that I don't have to listen to my bitch or my side piece nag me tonight." The other one said with a smile.

"Which of you fools threw the cocktail?" Bulldog asked.

"I think that was one of the Little Guys. Taped a lighter to a handle." The driver explained. "Want us to sort him out later?"

"Fuck no. Got some mad juice for that man. That's some Marine Corps shit right there." Bulldog said with a smile on his face.

The Rolling Sevens hauled ass away as police sirens could be heard in the distance. At the scene of the Dogs of Hell clubhouse, known affectionately as the Dog House, the remaining bikers gathered out front.

The vice president of the cub, man with long blonde hair in a ponytail with the name of Max Greene, asked the fatter man next to him. "What do ya want us to do Boss?"

Alan 'Boss' Holloway was the president of the local chapter of the Dogs of Hell. He was a large man over six feet, and 225 pounds. He has medium length curly brown hair and a full beard. "Dump all the stuff. Guns, drugs, everything. Cops'll be showing up so they're gonna turn this place into a crime scene. Don't want to have to explain anything." Boss ordered. "Luckily we done keep much here."

"What about the assholes who just hit us?"

"Call the Philly chapter, the Boston one, see if they have any spare guns or metal men." Boss ordered further.

"Anything else?" Greene asked.

"Yeah. Those dirt bags wore purple, so I guessing it's the Sevens. Call some of those bangers on Park Avenue. They may be willing to spare some guns and information about their rivals. And Turk Barret, he'll sell anything to anyone."

"I'm on it."

Boss grunted as he waited for the NYPD to show up.

* * *

Peter was feeling great as he woke up. He heard from Felicia yesterday that she and his Aunt May had a long phone conversation to clear the air. They didn't do much more than that, but it was a start. His battery prototype was well received, and Horizon was using it in their new computers, phones, and the employees were using it to power their new inventions. The inhaler he had invented for use with Black Cat against Mysterio was the basis for his new process of creating aerosol medicine. It was within his filed of biochemistry and certainly had commercial applications.

Peter walked downstairs and into his kitchen. He pulled out a bowl, spoon, milk, and sugary cereal as he put the morning news on. The weather was on, showing that it would be an overcast day. Not the most pleasant of skylines, but better than rain. Peter began to shovel sweet fruit flavored cereal into his maw. At some level he failed to grow up, because cereal was still his favorite breakfast.

The next story came on. It showed a shot up bar, and the newswoman in front of it.

"Last night, a drive by shooting occurred at the Dog House Bar, the well-known hangout of the Dogs of Hell Motorcycle Club. The police suspect that the shooting was committed by the Rolling Sevens Gang as a retaliation for the street fight that occurred three days ago." The news woman explained. "The investigation is ongoing and the police will have a press conference later on this latest example of gang violence."

Peter turned off the TV. 'Well at least the Punisher is in LA at the moment.' Peter had seen the recent video of him executing a Cartel leader in the middle of a crowed highway, and though he disagreed with Frank Castle's methods of shoot first, shoot some more, shoot everyone again, and then ask a few questions for where more targets are to shoot, Peter would admit they were effective in stopping criminals. But whenever The Punisher was in town, super-heroes such as himself had to deal with all of the moral dilemmas that came with the man extreme form of vigilante justice.

Peter turned off the TV and began to mentally prepare himself for the day. There was a meeting with Max Modell and the child prodigy at Horizon Uatu Jackson. There appeared to be a gang war looming in New York City, and Felicia said that she had planned a surprise for him later. Peter could handle gang wars and co-workers, but his girlfriend was another matter. It was very difficult to change her mind at times.

Peter slipped into a pair a clean jeans and put on a read polo shirt. He grabbed his duffle bag with the Spider-Armor, and his book bag with laptop and current notes on his 'medicine spray gun'. He grabbed his keys and walked out of his apartment. A short bus ride and 20 minutes later, Peter was walking into the lobby of Horizon Labs.

"Good morning Mr. Parker." The receptionist said. "Mr. Modell and Mr. Jackson said that they will be seeing you at some point this morning, and you have a visitor in your lab." She explained.

"Felicia?" Peter asked confused.

"I believe that is what the sign in log says." She said with a smile.

"Thank you very much." Peter said and started to walk towards his lab.

Peter's lab was on the secure floor of Horizon. How Felicia was able to get onto the approved guest list was anyone's guess. Peter imagined that she flirted with someone to get approval. But he would find that out when he saw her. On his way to the lab, Peter stopped by the Horizon cafeteria and picked up two cups of coffee and a few pieces of fruit.

Peter then worked his way to the lab, duffle on one shoulder, book bag on the other, coffee in one hand, fruit in the other. Thank God the door to his lab was voice activated. The door opened, and peter walked in to greet his girlfriend and share a snack. What he walked into was enough to make hum drop the coffee and the food.

On the main table of his lab, Felicia sat in a school girl outfit. He lags were crossed in front of her, and she leaned back on the table on her hands, pushing her chest out. She wore her hair down, and a set of fashionable black glasses. At white short sleeve button down and navy sweater vest left most of her midriff and cleavage exposed. A matching navy short skirt barely reached the middle of her thigh. Polished black shoes and long white socks completed the ensemble. This was the school outfit that she had mentioned in their pursuit of Mysterio.

Peter's mind went absolutely blank for a second. When it finally rebooted, he began to walk toward her. "Hey…Felicia." He tried to say casually. "What are you doin' here?"

Felicia flashed a wicked little smile. "Mr. Parker." She started with false innocence. "My grades are slipping. I'm afraid I don't have the… _head_ …for biology.

Despite the voice in his head screaming at him to be professional, that he was in the middle of his lab, that he was going to have a meeting of any minute, Peter kept walking towards her. He couldn't summon the will power. "What ah…what do you…um….not understand?" Peter asked. Felicia was into roleplaying. It just made Peter more awkward.

Felicia smiled a little bigger. "Ohhh…you know. Male and Female anatomy. The reproductive systems. Those diagrams are sooooooo hard to read." She said in the same innocent voice as she uncrossed her legs and wrapped them around Peter.

"What….um…how…how can I help?" Peter said as he began to fiddle with his collar.

"I think it would be best for you to…show me _your_ example." The last part came out sinfully wicked.

Peter needed an escape. "I would love to, but I have meeting shortly."

Felicia tightened her legs, pulling him roughly so Peter now leaned over her a little. "I sure we have time for a _quickie_ lesson, and then we can go _in depth_ later". She said.

'Innuendos. Innuendos everywhere!' Peter thought. He was now noticeable erect.

"It looks like you're ready to give me my lesson Mr. Parker."

The door to the lab opened. And Max and Uatu walked in.

"Ah man. Look at this mess." Uatu said as he noticed the spilt coffee and food. "If my mom saw this she'd flip."

Max noticed what was happening at Peter's table. "Are we interrupting?" He asked.

"NO…I mean…nope. Come on in." Peter said. He wasn't sure whether the Parker Luck saved him of screwed him, by keeping him from getting screwed.

"Oh well. We'll talk more later Peter." Felicia said as she unwrapped him and lifted herself off the table. It was a little too cheerful.

Now Peter wondered if she wanted to have sex, or just make him feel awkward. "Lunch later? At the deli?"

She pecked him on the lips. "Sure see you then." She pranced over to the entrance. And kissed Max on the cheek, and bent over and kissed Uatu on the forehead. "Max, Uatu. I'll see you two later as well."

"Would you like to change before you leave?" Max asked trying to be a gentleman.

"Why would I?" Felicia asked innocently before exiting the lab.

Max and Uatu stared at her as she left, and then turned to stare at Peter, who was now as red in the face as wine. The silence went on for a few seconds.

"It's not what you guys think." Peter said suddenly holding up his hands.

Uatu and Max just started at him some more. Uatu was the one to break the silence. "I haven't even gone through puberty, and I know what was about to happen." He said grinning like the kid he was.

"Peter, I know I said I wouldn't question what you did in your lab, but would you kindly try keep it clean for the sake of science? We don't need comtamination" Max asked politely.

Peter just hid his face in his hands.

 **How did you all like that? Everyone give a golf clap to NeoTyson for predicting that Felicia would show up in her old uniform, but that was some obvious foreshadowing to begin with. So the idea of this arc is that instead of fighting a super villain, out duo will have to fight a bunch of normal criminals. Anyway thanks as always to NeoTyson, Highlander, Kobevilla, and Celgress.**


	23. Arc 3, Chapter 2

**AN: Hey everyone. Sorry this took so long to get out. I've been writing reports for work the past fews, so the last thing that I wanted to do when I got home was write more. Everyone has a limit. Anyway, people wanted some more development for Felicia, so here is a little something that I worked on. In the comics, Felicia spent some time as a private investigator, so I figured out a way to get her to change careers to fit that history a little more and add additional depth to her character. Hope you all enjoy.**

Chapter 2

Felicia walked into the corporate high rise building in Midtown. The massive structure could was a glistening spire of glass and steel that could be seen for miles around. There was activity in the place all day long because the volume and variety of people who worked there. Law offices, worldwide financial services, travel agencies, telecommunications, research firms, and more used the structure for their base of operations. As such the lobby where Felicia currently was had two very important features, a security/information desk, and a coffee shop.

The lobby itself was organized with the desk with two uniformed guards behind the desk, their grey uniforms with novelty badges looked corny, but the Glock 17s in their holsters looked anything but. Marble tile flooring with black faux granite walls lent to the professional décor. The coffee shop in the corner meanwhile was separated with a waist high wrought iron fence, and had mahogany floor with an assortment of tables and chairs for patrons to sit. The bustle of people quickly moved though, partially because they were all in a rush to somewhere, and partially because the coffee shop had enough sense to hire enough people to make sure the lined moved quickly to make as many sales as possible.

Felicia herself had changed out of her teasing outfit for more professional attire. She sported a sky blue blouse with a midnight blue blazer with a matching skirt. Simple black heels clicked as she made her way across the floor to the desk. As she walked up to the desk she flashed a winning smile.

"Good morning boys." Felicia said cheerfully.

"Good morning." Said the first man, putting down his magazine, his mouth slightly agape.

Felicia loved how even though she wasn't trying to turn heads all that much, she still left men stunned. "I have a meeting on the 38th floor with Alex Maines with Corporate and Estates Insurance. I was told that I needed to get a guest pass for the elevator."

"Yeah." The guard said. "Lotta money goes through this place. Go figure that a insurance company would want to track people comin' and goin' to mitigate risk." The guard swiped a key card though the computer station at his desk and handed to over. "There ya go."

"Thank you very much." Felicia said and walked away.

She pulled her phone out of her purse and check the time. She was still a little early as her original plan to seduce Peter had been interrupted. Sure she wished that she could have had the opportunity to relax before her meeting, but she guessed that coffee would have to do. Felicia walked over to the small interior shop and got in line. She then looked though her purse and pulled out a manila folder with her job history and cover letter, including her recent work at the museum Mysterio robbed.

Felicia was here trying to get a new job. Her experience as an art appraiser was fantastic, but she now desired something that was a bit more exciting, and she thinks that she found the proper role for her to fill. A job had opened up at a Corporate and Estates Insurance for an Insurance Investigator. Felicia had heard about it through the insurance agent who worked for Stanly at the museum. Felicia promptly submitted an application. In the days since, she had received a call back for an interview, and now here she was.

Felicia reached the counter and ordered a latte. The cashier took her money and placed the order to the barista. Felicia reviewed all of her paper in the area next to a table loaded with sugar, cream, and other accoutrement for coffee. She was feeling very good about the interview.

"You're Felicia Hardy. You are the most elegant woman in Manhattan, and the most qualified person for this job." she said to herself quietly.

The barista called her name, and Felicia went to grab the heavy paper cup of black liquid. She made were way back to the table and added her cream and sweetener and began to sip at the drink. The mildly bitter taste woke her up, but was somewhat unsatisfying.

"Ugh." She groaned. "An orgasm would have been soooo much better." Missing the lost opportunity.

Minutes later after finishing the refreshment, Felicia walked over to the bank of elevators and pressed the call button. The first elevator reached the ground floor in a matter of seconds. Inside the box, Felicia pressed her guest pass against the floor button's and depressed the one for the 38th floor. The ride up was quick.

The door opened and Felicia was greeted with another lobby. The floor covered in a brown carpet and the walls lined with a stained maple walls. There was a female

receptionist a mere 10 feet from the elevators to keep anyone from sneaking in. Felicia walked up with another smile.

"Good morning. I here for a 10:30 meeting with Alex Maines." Felicia said.

"Ahh. Yes. I have you here in the book. Her office is on the left with her name on it." The receptionist said.

"Thank you kindly."

Felicia walked down the hall noting the layout of the office, a unconscious skill from her time as a thief. There was an interior wall behind the receptionist with the company title and logo. This wall hid a centrally placed breakroom. There were two conference rooms, one along the back wall and one along left wall shielded from public with frosted glass. Corner offices occupied each of the intersections. Off to the right was open doorframe filled with a cubicle farm, bustling with the drones of the workplace.

Felicia continued to walk to the office. She found the door that said Alex Maines: Personnel, and knocked on the door frame.

"Come in." said a feminine voice.

Felicia walked in and met with the voice. She was an older Caucasian woman with fading blonde hair. She was wearing similar professional attire to Felicia, but in a cream color. Her office was a simple layout with a desk with a computer, notebook, and a picture frame, and two chairs facing it. The woman worked her way around the desk to greet her guest.

"Good morning. I'm Alex Maines. It's nice to meet you." She said with a smile.

"Good Morning. Felicia Hardy." Felicia said reaching out to shale the woman's hand.

They moved to take seats on opposite sides of the desk.

"I'm going to tell you right up front that outside of retired NYPD officer, you were the only qualified person for the position, but he had nowhere near the same level of character references that you do. So long as you don't totally botch this interview, the job is yours." Alex disclosed.

"That's good to know. What did you hear about me?"

"Well truth be told, I only talked to Stanly from the museum, but he said 'Not hiring the lovely Ms. Hardy is an incredibly foolish thing to do.'" She said with a smile. "The only thing the NYPD did was send over the other applicant's personnel jacket, and I'm too busy to read through a 20 year career." Alex said with disdain.

"He's still try to get me to leave by boyfriend apparently." Felicia said.

"Well despite his age he is still a young man at heart." Alex surmised. "Who's your boyfriend?"

"His name's Peter. He's a researcher at Horizon." Felicia said with pride.

"That nice. So onto business. I've already done a rudimentary background check, so I just want to follow up on a few quick questions about your history just to double check."

"Okay then."

"Where do you go to school?"

"I went to New York University, where I earned a degree in Art History."

"And what did you do with that education?"

"Well I started working in museums cataloging the exhibits and assisting in art restoration. From there I also started working in appraisals part time."

"Why?"

"Additional income."

Alex was scribbling down some notes as Felicia gave her answers.

"Bit of a jump moving over to insurance investigation. What makes you think you're qualified to do that?" Alex asked.

"Well, when apprising art, you have to be able to verify authenticity, provenance, the line of ownership through sales and records. All of this requires accuracy and attention to detail. There has been a few occasions where I've spotted a forgery." Felicia explained.

"How did you handle the owner's taking the bad news?"

"Well if they were crest fallen, I told them they were more than welcome to get a second opinion, and was even willing to supply them with other appraisers. If they were angry, I did the same, but in a much more stern manner."

"Okay. Good to know that you can handle a upset customer, we get those from time to time."

"I would imagine." Felicia said with a small laugh.

Alex pulled out another manila envelope from the drawer of her desk. The envelope was about a half inch think with numerous sticky tabs on the side. What worried Felicia about this folder was the INTERPOL seal on the front. But Felicia wasn't going to let her concern show and pretended not to notice.

"What your relationship with Walter Hardy?"

Felicia froze a little. "He's my father. Why?"

Alex took a moment to choose her words. As a potential employer, she need to be tactful. She wanted to hire the best candidate for the job, so she didn't want to scare off someone as qualified as Felicia, but she still needed to ensure that she wasn't hiring a potential liability, which would be especially embarrassing for an insurance company.

"As an insurance investigator, you will regularly have to work with law enforcement, so we have a professional relationship with various branches, such as INTERPOL. This benefits us when we do background check on employees, because we get a bit more information on them." Alex explained. "When we asked about you, your father came up as a suspect in several high end thefts in Europe. I want to check to see if you are at any risk for leverage of internal fraud for my company." She finished as professionally as she could.

Felicia stared at Alex. She knew that she needed to answer the questions, but didn't want to lie. She would need to be just as tactful. Luckily she had had this conversation before with the various museums and the other art owner.

"I'm aware of the accusations. It would be impossible not to. My father disappeared years ago, and I haven't seen him since." Felicia said, purposely not explaining her father's involvement with The Kingpin. "I have nothing to do with him aside from sharing his name at this point."

Alex scribbled another note. "Some might be embarrassed by the potential scandal, or even ashamed."

Felicia feared that Alex was purposely trying to get a reaction out of her. She took breath and kept calm. "Yes, my father _may_ have been a thief. But all my memories before the police started asking about him were of a loving father and husband. That's the way I like to continue to think of him."

Alex Maines just looked at her for a few seconds before closing her notebook. "Well, that alleviates my worries for the most part."

"For the most part?"

"Yes. I still wonder if you can do the job, but you need to actually get some time working here before I can know for certain. When can you start?" The older woman asked with a smile.

Felicia smiled. "I can start next Monday."

Alex stuck out her hand to Felicia to shake it. "Welcome to Corporate and Estates Insurance."

 **What did you all think? Leave a review...if you dare.**


	24. Arc 3, Chapter 3

**AN: On a roll with this arc. I don't know if it's just the fact that I am loving the support from you all, or if I'm challenging myself my trying to do dynamic action, atmosphere, and believable dialogue, or the fact that I'm listening to Emphatic/Through Fire while writing and that totally amps me up but whatever the reason, it's got me going. Hope you all enjoy.**

Chapter 3

Peter knocked on the door to Felicia's penthouse. It had been a long day at work. After Felicia's visit, Peter had a conversation with Max and Uatu about using some of Peter's recent battery designs for some kind of project that Uatu had in the black box at his laboratory. Peter suggested that instead of making one custom battery that the assembly plant couldn't make, because Peter didn't design it, that Uatu just wire a few of the batteries in series or in parallel depending on weather he needed more amps or more volts. Uatu said that that would work for the prototyping stage, but would eventually need a self-contained unit. Later in the day, he received a call from his girlfriend saying that she had good news that she wanted to tell him. So here he was.

Felicia opened her front door with a smile on her face. She was in the same outfit that she was earlier, minus the jacket. She held in one hand, two champagne flutes, and in the other, the appropriate bottle of bubbly fluid. The image was complete with the smell of something delicious from inside the room. Peter sniffed the air and detected the smell of chicken, and some exotic blend of seasoning. Peter walked in and kissed Felicia on the lips. He then set down his duffle bag with his super suit down.

"Hey you. What's with the glassware, and what's that smell?" Peter asked.

"The smell is chicken cordon bleu and mixed vegetables from the on call kitchen. The champagne is because we're, more specifically, I'm celebrating." Felicia explained with a smile.

"What?"

"I got a new job!"

Peter stated at her for a second before smiling. She may not have told him that she was looking for a new job, but peter had full belief in her that the decision was a smart one. He would support the move.

"Congratulations. What is it? Who're you working for?" Peter asked with genuine enthusiasm.

"I going to work as an insurance investigator of Corporate and Estates Insurance. You know, looking into accidents, thefts, and trying to either recover lost assets, or detect fraud. Should be exciting." Felicia said in a rapid and excited manner.

"Sounds like a good thing for you. An exciting job filled with money, and bad guys."

Felicia set down the bottle and glasses on a nearby table. A quick 'POP' sounded and the carbonation rushed out of the bottle, which was captured by a white linen napkin wrapped around the neck. She poured the golden liquid into the classy containers and handed one to her boyfriend.

"Indeed it shall. Now we get to have a nice night to ourselves, and then we can…continue what we started this morning." She stated as she then took a small sip of the adult beverage.

Peter, suddenly very thirsty, took a slightly larger than sensible gulp. "Why…uh…why don't we have dinner?" Peter suggested.

"Good idea. We can finish what we started sooner." Felicia said turning around and practically prancing into the dining room. Peter took another gulp and followed her.

The dining room was romantically lit. Two candles and soft incandescent lighting basked the room in a soft golden glow. The table was covered in a white table cloth, and simple, but expensive, china and silverware set the stage for a masterfully crafted meal. Peter quickly scooted over to the table and pulled out the chair for Felicia to sit down.

"I'll thank you properly later." Felicia said.

Peter stumbled walking over to his chair. "Ummm, you're welcome." Peter said.

Peter sat down, set down the champagne flute, and picked up the silverware. Peter's phone started to buzz in his pocket. Felicia stated at Peter with an amused expression as he pulled it out. The distraction from dinner was most unwelcome as he pulled up a notification from the DB!, the hip new name for the Daily Bugle.

"What's so important that you need to check your phone while we're celebrating?" Felicia teased.

"Oh boy. Not good." Peter said in a worried tone.

"What?" Felicia said concerned, setting down her fork and knife.

"This." Peter showed her the screen of the phone and played the video that had been pulled up.

Norah Winters, a reporter for the DB! was on camera at a NYPD station. "Over the past thirty minutes, gang violence has exploded across Manhattan. The Dogs of Hell biker gang has been scene attacking members of the Rolling Sevens. If this gang on gang violence continues to escalate, it will be greater than it has been in decades. A statement by an NYPD spokesperson is that in order to head off the rapid climb in gang violence, they have already requested the help from federal agencies. They also ask that citizens be careful in there day to day activities, and to contact law enforcement for any information in order to assist in keeping the city safe. We will continue to update as we learn more." Norah explained.

"Sorry to cut dinner short, but we gotta move." Peter said getting up from the table.

"What about the food? Seems a shame to waste it." Felicia said with some disappointment.

"Trust me. If you have two slices of bread, anything can be a sandwich."

* * *

Spider-Man and Black Cat dashed across the rooftops of Manhattan to the biggest nearest fight that they heard about over the police scanner. The fight was too big for the average patrol officer, so the police set up a cordon, and were mobilizing their riot units. The hero's knew though that what was apparently a massive brawl could turn into a bloodbath at any moment. Speed was the idea for getting into the fight.

The two reached the roof top near the gang war and looked down. A mural of competing colors and noises was extremely audible, even several stories up. The blue and red flashing lights from the police cruisers, and dark blue uniforms of the police formed a solid line at one end of one block. Several hundred meters away a writhing mass of black and purple figures wailed on each other with hands, feet, and blunt instruments. From up top, the hero's knew that the riot police wouldn't be able to end this peacefully.

"C'mon Cat. Stick together. Subdue them as fast as you can." Spider-Man said and jumped down.

Spider-Man shot out a webline above the clash, and used his momentum to swing kick the first goon. Black Cat landed by pile driving the next guy into the ground. The two immediately drew the attention of a couple of the fighting men in the crowd. The display of acrobatic violence that quickly defeated two criminals tended to have a shock and awe effect. But that didn't last long. Each of the bikers and gangsters in striking distance launched their own attack at the vigilantes.

Spider-Man used his speed to attack faster and harder. His swift uppercut was faster than the lazy haymaker, and the gangster was knocked to the ground. He quickly webbed the man's torso to the ground to keep him from fighting. He then pivoted to see how Black Cat was faring. Black Cat had decided to do a high spin kick to knock her opponent out.

Spider-Man and Black Cat went back to back and assumed defensive stances. They parried and counter attacked, making sure that they didn't let anyone attack their partner. Incoming punch, redirect, strike. Incoming kick, grab leg, twist ankle, and sweep kick. The whole plan was to whittle away at the mass, because with the police barricade, there was no way for them to escape. So all the hero's had to do was out last the criminals.

"Comin through." Came a loud voice as a massive man in a purple jack charged through the crowd.

"Cat. Dodge." Spider-Man said jumping away.

Black Cat turned to look for the best place to move, but that split second took too long and she was carried though the crowd away from Spider-Man.

"CAT!" he yelled.

"Too bad." Came the voice of a large Dogs of Hell biker. "If you're looking for a person in leather though, I'll dance." The man was over six feet tall and clearly overweight. The vest he was wearing was XXL, and shirt he was wearing underneath had spit stains from dipping tobacco on the chest. The helmet on his head bore the logo of the DoH.

"Dude. You are the _very_ last person I _ever_ want to see in skin tight leather." Spider man said with disgust.

"How 'bout I show you something else?"

"But what about the children?" Spider-man said sarcastically.

"Not what I'm talking about." The main said and charged at Spider-Man. He ducked his head down to build up more speed.

Spider-Man jumped up with super human agility. He flipped in mid-air and came down on the biker's head. He wrapped his legs around the man's head and began to pound on the helmet. The armored knuckles of his gloves kept him from hurting his hand. This was all just a distraction as Spider-Man wrapped his thighs tighter around the man's neck in a triangle choke.

Seconds later the big biker fell to his knees, and his eyes rolled back into his head. Spider-Man stood up on his feet and looked around. Six more bikers and gangsters circled around him. One of the bikers had a pipe in his hand.

"You guys want to give up yet?" Spider-Man asked, trying to be kind. Some of the criminals readied their fists, rolled their shoulders, one of the bikers cracked his neck in a macho fashion. "So be it."

He shot out a webline at the pipe, firmly securing it. The hero then pulled the pipe from the bikers grasp and started to swing it like a medieval mace. The metal object flew through the air, hitting various body parts. Spider-Man swung the makeshift weapon so fast it created a blur in the radius it occupied. Seconds later the goons were on the ground.

Now that he had some breathing room, Spider-Man checked to find where Black Cat was in the crowd.

* * *

Black Cat had been tackled before, and by guys who were far bigger and stronger. The initial impact of being lifted off your feet and carried and unknown distance was still a surprise though. The purple clad gangster slammed her into the ground.

"Hey there pretty lady." The man said. "Bet you like me on top."

"I prefer that position." She responded venomously. She hooked her leg around his and proceeded to rollover the top of the man. From this position she sprayed a small cloud of knockout gas in his face. The man passed out almost immediately. It was a useful trick to have.

Some more gangster congregated around her. Black Cat could fight two or three guys at a time, but this was crazy. She pulled smoke grenade from her belt and dropped it. The air quickly filled with gas, hiding her from anyone right in front of her. She spotted and arm trying to wave away the smoke. From the angle she could see that it was the person's left arm, giving her an idea of their position, so she reached out and pulled him in, while launching a palm strike at the man's jaw, knocking him out.

A few more people wandered in and Black Cat dealt with them the same fashion. People learned though and stopped approaching her, waiting for the smoke to clear. A series of loud thumps and impacts and well as a sickly cracking sound.

"CAT! I took care of them!" Came the voice of Spider-Man.

Black Cat came out of her concealment. Spider-Man had a unconscious biker over his shoulder. "What's with the passenger?" She asked.

"Gonna need some information. C'mon. Just heard over the scanner that the riot team is on its way." Spider-Man lift his arm up and shot and webline and pulled away from the ground.

* * *

A quick questioning of the biker revealed that he was just a pledge member from New Jersey. The whole fight had been amongst lower ranking member from both gangs. The pledge also revealed that the Dogs of Hell weren't going to roll over for their enemy. Spider-Man and Black Cat were now standing on a rooftop considering their options after hanging the biker from a street lamp.

"What's the next move?" Black Cat asked.

"Normally I would go straight to the top and hit the bad guys, or go after whatever bit or bob the two groups were fighting about. The problem is I've never had to deal with a gang war like this before." Spider-Man explained.

"Still need to know the next move. If we only respond to these fights, they are gonna get out of hand." Felicia explained.

"I know…I'm gonna make a call." Spider-Man said pulling out his Avengers ID card.

"To who?"

"Someone who knows how to fight a war."

The card opened up a video link.

"Agent Venom." Came the tired voice of the Secret Avenger.

"Venom. It's Spider-Man. I could use some advice."

 **AN: So after the less than stellar attempt at my Agent Venom story, I've decided to roll him into my Spider-Man story. Maybe he'll get another eventually, but for now, he's been moved to a background character for this arc.**


	25. Arc 3, Chapter 4

**AN: So I had to do a lot of writing for work the past few weeks, and it completely killed my motivation to do any when I got home. So that is the reason for the delay. Anyway, big thanks to those who have been viewing and reviewing, I'm almost to 30,000 views. Bigger thanks to NeoTyson, Cellgress, and Kobvilla for the same devotion that they have had thus far. Hope you all enjoy.**

Chapter 4

Flash Thomson, also known as Agent Venom, former Black Operator, current Secret Avenger slept soundly. The weight lifting after dinner was always a good workout. The sex before bed always made him sleepy though. Now aboard the lighthouse space station, he lay in bed with his girlfriend, the Asgardian Goddess Valkyrie. The gentle light of the moon cast its glow into the bedroom. It was the most peaceful that he had felt since the ULTIMATUM raid on The Catacombs failed a few day ago. A gentle beeping from his ID card began to emanate.

Flash reached over and picked up the ID card and opened up an audio only link on his side. The face of his hero idol, Spider-Man opened up. "Agent Venom." He said rubbing his eyes. His movement woke up Valkyrie next to him.

"Venom, It's Spider-Man. I could use some advice."

Venom sat up against the headrest of the bed. "Lay it on me."

"So we got a gang war brewing here in Manhattan. The Dogs of Hell MC, and the Rolling Sevens street gang. Way things are shaping up, it's gonna be like the Bloods and the Crips in the early nineties." Spider-Man explained in a hurried manner.

"Okay. You want me to come down, knock some heads together?" Venom asked.

"I just need some advice in how to fight a war. That's all. I tend to deal with individual street thugs, or super villains. Sometimes a crime family making a power play, but nothing like this."

"Alright then." Venom said rubbing the brie of his nose. At this point Valkyrie was awake and rubbing his chest affectionately. "The key to winning a war is to find the enemy, then kill the enemy, or in your case beat the shit out of them."

"Okay. Go on."

"First, figure out the command structure. If you spend time taking out the foot soldiers, they'll just replace them. If just go and take out the head honcho though, the number two guy will just take his place, and he'll be even more paranoid 'cause now he knows people will be out to get him. So figure out who all the players are, take out the second and third tier guys supporting the man at the top, then take out the main man. It'll leave the subordinate units and cells disorganized and without leadership. Their greed and infighting will take care of the rest." Venom finished.

"Uh huh. Okay. Yeah. Cat and I can do that." Spider-Man said confidently over the voice link.

"You two moved in yet?" Venom asked. Though Venom wasn't as close to Spider-Man as many of the other Avengers, as a super hero in a steady relationship, Spider-Man was like a gold plated unicorn, and all of them liked to keep track of his and Black Cat's status as a couple.

"Have you made things official with Valkyrie yet?" Spider-Man asked with a little annoyance.

Valkyrie had moved to licking Venoms chest now. "Not yet…". Valkyrie bit down lightly.

"Ah!" Venom hitched.

"What was that?"

"Nothin'. Call me if you need me."

"Trying to stop thing place from turning into a warzone. Not like what you do with Boston in your off time Venom."

Valkyrie lips had moved to Venom's jawline now. "Well if it happens anyway, you know who to call. See ya." Venom said quickly and hung up the phone. He looked down at Valkyrie. "What are you doin'?"

The blonde Asgardian smiled. "Trying to make is as you on Earth say 'make it official'." She explained, and kissed Venom.

* * *

Peter and Felicia back at her apartment. The two had changed out of their uniforms and gotten into more comfortable street cloths. Peter's red T-shirt, open blue button down and jeans paired well with Felicia's white blouse with mauve vest and a rose skirt. Color was something that looked just as good on Felicia as black. The two worked diligently over a notepad and a computer trying to put together who they could talk to in order to get information on the current gang leadership.

The two looked through the news, social media, police reports, and reached out to some of Black Cats criminal contacts. So far they had developed two solid leads. Norah Winters, a reporter for The DB! had written a series on the Rolling Sevens gang and some of the stuff was insider information to names, structure, and places of congregation. What they were able to find out about the Dogs of Hell was through their public website. They weren't able to learn much other than they were recruiting pledges in town. The plan was for Peter to meet up with Norah to get information on the Sevens, and for Felicia to use her feminine wiles to elicit information from the bikers.

That part that Peter had the problem with was that Felicia would be going in alone…into a biker bar…full of men…who had and ax to grind with their super hero personalities. "So what makes you think that you can just walk into a place like that and just talk about that type of club related information? If pledging for a biker gang is like a fraternity, then members are not likely to give you information like that." Peter asked with confusion and worry.

"I can fit in." Felicia said plainly.

"How?"

"Just wait and see." She said smiling. Felicia turned around and pranced into her bedroom.

Peter just sat on the couch and put his face in his hands. The nature of Felicia's plan required a certain amount of subterfuge that he was sure the DoH would not appreciate. Sure she was charismatic and beautiful, but that only could go so far with a group like the people she planned to get involved in under her real name. Peter groaned and rubbed his eyes.

"The least that I can do is set up my meeting with Norah tomorrow." He said to himself and pulled his phone out of his pocket.

He quickly dialed the number of Norah Winters. A few rings later, she picked up.

"This is Norah. Make it quick I'm waiting for an important call." Norah said in a tone that was not mean, but certainly urgent.

"Norah. It's Peter Parker. I'm calling to get information for a mutual acquaintance. Spider-Man." He stated.

"Oh! How can I help?" She asked a little friendlier. Norah was always trying to get information on Spider-Man and Black Cat, so she was more than willing to tolerate Peter's disruption if it meant getting closer to the hero.

"He needs information on the Rolling Sevens, and you did a series of stories on them. He and Black Cat could use information on the gang." Peter explained.

"I'll do it. On one condition." She negotiated.

"What?"

"You help me fix a computer tomorrow." Norah demanded.

Peter grinned. He could do that in his sleep. "Deal. What time?"

"Come by around 11:30."

"All right. See ya tomorrow." Peter said and hit the 'end call' button. Peter slid that device back into his pocket in time to see Felicia come back into the living room.

What she was dressed in made his jaw hit the floor. It was similar to her Black Cat outfit. A black leather vest, tight black leather pants, and black leather boots created the quintessential biker babe. The outfit screamed mean as hell with sex appeal. Felicia defiantly had the look.

"Oh…wow. Okay. What…uh…what about the bike?" Peter asked. That was the only thing that he could think of that would prevent Felicia from getting in the door of a biker bar.

"No problem. I have a Harley Davidson V-Rod in the garage." Felicia explained moving to straddle Peter's lap.

"How long have you had that?"

"Learned to ride while I was attending school. Did you call Norah?" Felicia asked as she began to massage Peter's shoulders.

Peter groaned as he relaxed. "Yeah. I'm meeting her tomorrow. Just have to fix her computer."

"Well that seems easy." Felicia said as she continued to massage him. "You like that?" she whispered in his ear.

"Ohhhh yeah." Peter exhaled. "So…why did you learn to operate a motorcycle?"

"Well…I like the feel of something big and throbbing in between my legs." Felicia said suggestively. She then kissed Peter, putting her tongue in his mouth.

Peter went with the flow. He kissed his girlfriend back, using his own tongue to wrestle with hers. The warm, wet feeling was still incredible, even after all their time together. The raw passion that flowed through the individuals isolated them from the world in their own minds.

Felicia pushed off Peter's button down, and lifted off his t-shirt. She always enjoyed seeing his body. The well-toned, lean muscle from years fighting was enough to make the Statue of David feel like he needed a better gym regiment. Felicia broke from the kiss to admire the man beneath her.

Peter took the opportunity to begin to kiss Felicia's neck, pushing her pressure points with his lips. His hands reached behind her to grab her rear and pull her closer.

Felicia moaned and used a free hand to pull her boots free. She then looped her heels around Peter's knees. Their current entwine position satisfied their need to be locked in with each other. But it still left on need unsatisfied.

Felicia began to undo the button to Peter's pants, and Peter begrudgingly let on hand off her butt in order to pull down the zipper of her vest. He was glad that he made this decision as he shortly learned that Felicia was not wearing any type of undergarment underneath. The vest fell to the floor, and Peter began to kiss at the newly exposed flesh as Felicia used her flexibility to push Peters pants and underwear to the floor beside her recently discarded garment.

Peter picked Felicia up and carried her over to the bedroom. He didn't bother to turn on the lights as he set her down on the bed. Felicia began to remove her leather pants, and Peter meanwhile went over to the bedside drawer and reached in to pull out a condom. He had to open a new box to get it.

"Oh good. We have plenty." Felicia said as she laid backward.

Peter had lost any desire to comment. He quickly got on the bedspread above Felicia. She wrapped her legs around him and pulled him in to kiss him. Peter reached under her arms to pull her even closer. At that moment was when he entered her. Felicia moaned with her approval of him.

The movements that followed were enthusiastic and deliberate. The sounds of kissing, moaning, heavy breathing filled the silence of the dark room. The lights from the city outside provided just enough light to give outlines to the shapes and objects, but the two were so aware of each other even that was unwarranted because of their familiarity and awareness. Every slight sound, every small movement, every little detail was a signal to either keep doing something, or to change.

Eventually the climactic end arrived and Felicia let out a loud, and exasperated moan while Peter let out a low grunt. He rolled of and opened up his arms as Felicia rolled over onto his chest. He removed the used protection and deposited it in the wastebasket nearby. Felicia kissed his chest while simultaneously reaching over for another condom.

"Already?" Peter asked grining. He knew he wasn't going to say no.

"Whenever I go for a ride on the bike, I like to go for a couple hours if possible. But you already know that." Felicia said as she opened up the packaging.

 **AN: So a little follow up to my Agent Venom story (Which I'm sure that Cellgress appreciates), a little plot development, and just enough Lemon to make a round of properly garnished cocktails. Until the next chapter everyone.**


	26. Arc 3, Chapter 5

**AN: So I've been working a lot these past few weeks, and been sick as well. This chapter is a bit weaker as a result. I just had difficulty getting the motivation and energy to write to the same quality that I normally have. However the time came to either get something out for you all. So I hope you enjoy it.**

Chapter 5

Peter woke up slowly. The soft hum of Manhattan outside the window, with the golden glow of the sun served as the stimulus to bring him to consciousness. The soft sheets of the bed wrapped themselves around every appendage and limb in an attempt to seduce him back into sleep. The sole reason that Peter did not do just that was because he decided to check the time on his phone, and new that another few house of sleep, and he would miss his appointment with Norah.

Peter sat up and looked around the room. The scent of Felicia's perfume, and sweat clung to the covers. Atop those was note on a loose sheet of paper. Peter read through it. The note Felicia left explained that she had to go do some shopping, and that he was going to have to be her 'big boy' and get himself to work.

Peter shook his head at the joke and swung his legs out the bed. He first utilized the bathroom to shower, shave, and brush his teeth. He then clea2ned up the clothing that was on the floor from the previous night of sex and passion. The last thing that Peter did was change into clean cloths and make himself a quick sandwich before leaving Felicia's apartment.

Peter walked down to the nearby subway station and took the stairs down. He paid with his metro card, and stood on the platform and waited for the next train. The platform milled about with people holding phones, coffee, an older man sitting on a bench held a copy of the New York Times. The next subway arrived at the platform and opened its doors. People made their way in and out of the rail vehicle.

Peter stood and waited inside as the subway started to make its way to the next station. Peter checked his phone for the time and made sure that he was going to be ahead of time. The New York City subway system could never be fully trusted to operate on time, so Peter always planned to show up ahead of schedule.

As expected, the subway was a few minutes late by the time that Peter did arrive at the station a few blocks from The DB! Peter walked up onto the street and made his way down the block to his destination. The DB! occupied the top of a three-way Y-intersection. The old billboard on top had been redone to made to seeming cleaner and more 'hip'.

Peter walked into the lobby, picked up a guest pass and rode the elevator up to the top floor. He walked into the office of journalists and reports where he once worked. The cubicle farm was filled with people typing furiously, and chatting on cell phones. The smell of strong coffee and decades of smoking before it was against the law to smoke inside hung on the air.

Peter walked over to one of the oldest men in the office. Robbie Robertson was a veteran reporter for the Daily Bugle when J. Jonah Jameson was still the editor. Now he was the old man in the office with by far the most reporting experience, but needed the younger reporters to help him navigate the modern world of 24-hour internet based news.

"Robbie. How's to goin?" Peter asked in a friendly manner as he reached out to shake his hand.

"Peter. How's the best photographer that used to work for me?" Robbie asked in an enthusiastic manner.

"Good. Just here to help fix a computer for Norah." Peter said.

"Really? Can't someone in IT do it?" Robbie asked.

"I don't know, Norah asked me to help do it. Recon that she has something she's working on to be kept secret." Peter explained. He didn't feel the need to tell Robbie he was here to get information on the Rolling Sevens.

"All right. Well if were paying you, be sure to punch the time card like you used to." Robbie said laughing. Peter was an infamous freelancer when he worked for the Bugle.

"Will do." Peter said and turned away.

He made his way to Norah Winters. She was a smaller, petite, blonde haired woman with a focused and talkative disposition. She was a phenomenal reporter. When Peter, found her, she was typing furiously at a clearly functional computer.

"Norah. I though your computer was down?" Peter said confused

"No. I said I needed you to fix _a_ computer. Not specifically mine. Hope you brought some tools with you. You're coming with me." Norah said putting a legal pad and a couple of pens into a shoulder bag.

"Where are we going?"

"Rolling Sevens place. Got a contact there. Need your help." Norah said as she got up out of her seat and started to walk away.

"Ah great." Peter mumbled and walked after.

* * *

"So the way the Sevens break down is pretty simple. At the bottom you got the guys who aren't in the gang yet, but are still hanging around trying to get in. They're call Punks, or puny boys. Then you have the basic member of the gang, call a Little Brother, or a Little Guy. Above them are the Big Guys or, Big Brothers. That's the bulk of the Sevens leader ship." Norah explained. Her time as a reporter had exposed her to many criminal elements in the city, so she not only knew the names of leaders as well.

"Okay. But who's in charge?"

"So there are a few Big Guys with a reputation who hold more weight. One guys' name is Bulldog, don't know his real name though. He's their biggest enforcer. Another is the Rolling Sevens biggest dealer named Kit Kat. The whole gang is run by a man named Samuel Johnson, called OG." Norah explained.

"Really holding onto cultural stereotypes. Aren't they?" Peter asked sarcastically.

"Maybe. Now were on our way to a Sevens place. They have a broken computer, and you're gonna fix it. I'm gonna interview one of the Big Brothers for a story. Don't cause trouble."

Peter gulped. He planned on getting information, true, but he didn't plan on going into a Sevens apartment to get it.

"I'm not certain this is a good idea."

"We'll I already told them you were coming to help. You think that they would be willing to let me come without them gaining something?"

Peter groaned internally. He was gonna have to fix a gang computer apparently. The ride in the taxi took them to a lower income neighborhood. There was more homeless people visible. Gang members loitered around under streetlamps. The taxi pulled up to a street corner, and Peter and Norah got out.

They were immediately approached by a kid who looked to be about 17 years old. "You Norah?" he asked.

"I am."

"This the nerd?"

"He is."

The kid nodded in understanding. "Marcus told me to bring you to him. Said you were cool. Some kinda reporter?"

"Indeed. I'm doing a story." Norah explained. She smiled sweetly, knowing that she was already cleared to go. The neighborhood was not really all that safe at the moment.

"Lead the way."

Peter followed behind the gang member and Norah. He kept quiet and paid attention to his surroundings. He was a Caucasian male, with an attractive blonde female, in a predominantly black neighborhood, during a crime spree. He stuck out, and could feel the eyes on his back.

Spider-Man was certainly tough enough to fight his way out if needed, but Peter Parker was a small nerd who should not have been there for any reason, unless it was with a church group doing some kind of non-profit work. They walked for a few blocks to a housing project. They walked in and took the stairs up a few floors to a singular apartment. Their escort told them to go inside.

Peter followed Norah inside and were greeted with a familiar sight for Peter. A number of computer servers were nestled side by side with a workstation at a desk. Another member of the Rolling Sevens was inside playing on his phone.

"Marcus. Good to see you. This is Peter."

"Hey girl." The man named Marcus said. He just nodded at Peter. Peter nodded back. "Can you fix this shit?"

"What's wrong?" Peter asked. "I was just told that I would be fixing a computer."

"Our message boards are all fucked up man. Can you fix it?" Marcus asked.

"Let me get to work." Peter said as he went over to the computers and started to work. Get first checked the hardware. Made sure that all of the wiring was correct, and all of the status lights were the right color. Meanwhile Marcus sat down with Norah and they had an interview.

Peter then proceeded to access the web based browser of the router that connected the server to the rest of the world. He discovered that someone had used a virus to install a remote admin. The remote admin had blocked all user access to the message board. Peter never would have guessed that the gang war had gone digital. In no time, Peter had removed the virus, and blocked the remote access that had installed it.

He quickly checked out the message board that the Rolling Sevens had created in order to communicate. He quickly scrolled through the user information. Peter needed to be quick in order to avoid getting caught by Marcus. He found out the user names two individuals. BB_Bulldog, and KitKatKandy were two of the most frequent communicators. He quickly sent the list of geo tag info to himself. Hopefully this would allow him to track down to of the biggest heads of the Rolling Sevens.

Peter logged off and packed up. Norah was still talking with Marcus, but he interrupted. "I fixed the problem."

"What was it?" Marcus asked.

"Remote Admin blocked all user access." Peter explained. "easy fix for me."

"Cool. We done here?" Marcus asked Norah.

"I guess." Norah said as she packed up. "Thanks for the time."

Peter and Norah walked out of the apartment. They caught another cab downstairs.

"I was getting good information. Couldn't you have taken a bit longer?" She asked.

Peter just started at her for a second. "I'm sorry. I don't like to spend time affiliating with gang members." He said in an exasperated tone. Spider-Man loved to visit gang members in their hideouts though.

 **AN: I have even more work coming up over the next few weeks, so really don't expect another update until the middle of November. Sorry for the wait folks. See you all then.**


	27. Arc 3, Chapter 6

**AN: Hey every one. Here's a little something for you all. If you are reading this shortly after it was posted, and live in the United States, Happy Thanksgiving. If not, well, I hope you all have a good day anyway. Thank you for all being patient as I got some work stuff in my life done, and I hope you all enjoy.**

Chapter 6

Felicia rode her Harley fast and hard. Weaving in and out of traffic like a madman, or mad woman as the case was. Passing vehicles on the left, right and in between. The speed could be felt as it pulled back her platinum hair that was outside her helmet. The engine roared as she pulled back on the throttle.

She was headed out toward a Dogs of Hell clubhouse on the boarder of New Jersey and New York. The DoH had moved out of Manhattan for the most part. This was a smart move from their standpoint because even though the DoH controlled interstates across the country, Manhattan was still controlled by the Rolling Sevens for the most part, aside from their main competition, the Park Avenue Gang. That was why Felicia was had to go so far out of her way.

After an hour or so of riding from her place, Felicia found herself pulling up to the Crank Place. It was a wood paneled building with a cement parking lot. The lot was filled with American model motor cycles of every shape and size. A menagerie of colors and chrome shone bright in the early afternoon sun. The only vehicle that was out of place was a blaze orange sedan with chrome hubcaps.

Felica put down the kickstand and killed the engine. She then swung her legs off and put her helmet in one of the saddle bags that hung off the side of the rear of the seat. Guys in the leather jackets started take notice of her by now. A few wolf whistles echoed across the pavement as well as some verbal comments about her ass and boobs. Not that Felicia minded, that was the exact image that she was going for. If everyone was too busy thinking about her body, then they wouldn't be paying attention to her hands taking things, or her ears listening for information, or her eyes looking for targets.

Felicia strolled across the parking lot to the front door. The bouncer there held up a hand to stop her from entering. "What are you doing here gorgeous?" The burly man asked.

"I'm new in town. Heard the Dogs were the baddest boys in town. Though I'd come here for myself to see and…let my hair down." Felicia said as she undid the ponytail in her hair.

The bouncer just starred for a second. "You have some kind of identification?" The man asked.

"No." she said coyly, rotating her torso just a little.

The bouncer gulped. "Well… you look to be at least 21. I guess I'll let you in."

"Thank you." Felicia said, and kissed him on the cheek. The man wouldn't even remember her face now.

Felicia walked into the crowded Crank Place and looked around. The room was lit with incandescing lighting. The walls were a pleasant earthy brown color, and were adorned with biker and American memorabilia. The back wall occupied a bar along the length of it. Flat screen TVs played a variety of sports games and commentaries while AC/DC blasted from speakers. Felicia decided that the best place to start would be the bar, and to get a drink.

She strutted her way up. The bar was a mess of stains, and rings from spilt drinks, and crumbs from peanuts and pretzels. Felicia leaned her elbows on the brass railing, keeping her arms of the surface. The bartender walked up to her with a smile. Like everyone else, he had a biker vest on with a DoH club patch on his back, complete with top and bottom rockers. He was completely shaven, with sleeve tatoos.

"What can I get for you pretty lady?" He asked.

"Double of Breckenridge on the rocks." Felicia said confidently.

The bartended nodded and reached on the shelf behind him for a bottle of brown liquor and a glass. He put ice in the glass, and poured four ounces of bourbon. Felicia took a drink of the beverage and looked around to get an idea of who was in the low-end dive bar.

The bar was filled with bikers of all ages and shapes. The bar was adjacent to what must have been considered a dining area, full of tables and chairs. Though there was no food, just bottles of beer and empty shot glasses. The area that drew Felicia attention was a nook with a few pool tables and a few men playing a game. They were talking very seriously. Two of the guys were clearly bikers, leather and all. The last man was African-American, and probably the owner of the owner of the orange sedan out front, judging by the fact that he wore an orange hoodie, shoes and tan cargo shorts.

"Who are those guys by the pool table?" Felicia asked the bartender in a friendly manner.

"The big guy's Boss Holloway. He's the president of this chapter. Guy with long hair is Max Greene, the vice president. The other guy is part of the Park Avenue Gang." The Bartender said. "Why ask?"

"Well, I was planning on spending more time with you boys. Just wanted to know who I could butter up to get in good standing." Felicia lied.

"Well you're in luck." The bartender said. "I'm the Chief of Staff of the Dogs. Name's Jim Horton." He finished extending out a hand

Felicia shook it. "Pleasure to meet you. I'm Felicia."

"So Felicia. You planning on trying to become a full member, or just a freerider who hangs around?"

"I'll let you know later." Felicia said with a coquettish smile.

Felicia spent the next two hours schmoozing with various members of the Dogs of Hell. She found out that the membership was divided into three castes. At the bottom were pledges, next were members, and at the top were officers. Pledges and Members were 'visiting' from New Jersey, and the gangster from the Park Avenue Gang was a lieutenant who was giving information about the Rolling Sevens. Felicia wasn't the least surprised. The Young men that made up the pledges tended to be willing to talk to a sexy woman in revealing leather. She did have to use her thief skills to slip away quietly though.

* * *

Felicia rode her motorcycle through the city back to her apartment. She parked the bike in the garage and rode the elevator back up to her place. She was depressed to see that Peter wasn't back yet. Or maybe he was out fighting gangsters without her. That would have made her annoyed with him. Especially considering how horny she was at the moment. Riding a bike all day tended to do that to her.

She stripped off her bike leather, grabbed her phone, and strutted in her panties to her bathroom. The downside to a bike ride was that she now smelt like gasoline, and had a small layer of dust, grime, and other material on her skin. She needed a shower.

Felicia turned on the shower and turned up the heat to a comfortable temperature. She then slipped her panties off and stretched nude in the bathroom as the water warmed up. Eventually she stepped under the water and began to think about what she had discovered at her little trip outside the city. The Dogs were gathering men, and getting information on their enemies. It appeared that they were preparing for some kind of attack. Satisfied with her conclusion, she began to wash herself.

The soap and warm water felt great. She did encounter a small problem as she began to wash her lower body. She became insatiable. The humming and throbbing of a bike engine, combined that fact that she was now touching herself had left her with only one option at this point. She inserted her fingers into herself and let out a low moan of pleasure.

"Peter." She muttered as she leaned her back against the wall.

She continued to stroke and touch herself for another minute before she had a wicked idea. If Peter wasn't here to satisfy her right now after last night, why should she let her imagination give him the pleasure. Felicia withdrew her hand and stuck her head and arm out of the shower to the nearby counter and grabbed her phone.

She opened up the web browser, and pulled up a porn site. A quick search later and she found what she wanted. A video of two nude women grinding against each other and emitting loud erotic noises. Felicia angled the phone to be able to watch the video from in the shower.

She loved Peter. There was zero doubt in her mind about that. But she was bi-sexual, and there were just some desires that Peter couldn't satisfy because of that. Felicia didn't blame him for that. She just wished that he wasn't so shy about sex that they could occasionally bring in a third dance partner to the horizontal mambo.

Felicia leaned against the wall again and resumed her previous activities. She inserted her fingers into herself and continued to probed. Imagining herself with the two ladies on the video. Peter was talented enough in bed to be able to satiate her needs, but sometimes she wanted the softer flesh of a woman.

The women in the video had pulled out a couple of marital aids now and had turned them up. They were a little more vocal, and more enthusiastic in their actions now. Felicia appreciated that. Her own action became more vigorous, and her own voice became more vocal. Shortly afterward she came, and the video ended.

Felicia turned off the water, and stepped out of the shower. She toweled off and bent down to pick up her underwear, but stopped. She looked over at her phone. She bent up, leaving her clothing on the ground. She picked up the phone and looked for another video like the last, still aroused.

"I still have a 'assistant' somewhere I can use too, 'cuase that looked like it was good." Felicia said to herself, and went to her bedroom.

 **AN: Sorry this was so short. The editing cut a little more out than I wanted, but it was needed. Trust me. As always, big thanks to those who review. This chapter I want to thank NeoTyson, Revolution Assassin, and Celgress. You guys are awesome.**


	28. Arc 3, Chapter 7

**AN: Happy New Year Everyone!. I apologize greatly for the delay. Given this holiday season, It was more of a priority to spend my free time with family and cherished friends. I have made this next chapter a exciting as possible to make up for your patience.**

Chapter 7

Felicia had finished cleaning up. She had moved her clothing out of the bathroom, and into the hamper. The adult toy she used was cleaned and placed back in a drawer with all of her other adult paraphernalia. She was relaxed, loosened up, and her desire for carnal activities with the fairer sex had been diminished due to the glory of internet pornography.

Now all she wanted was for Peter to hurry up with his looking into the Rolling Sevens and get back to her so they could beat up the gang members. Felicia went to the bathroom and put on a short, light gray, silk robe. She strolled back to the bedroom and plopped down on the bed. She pulled out her phone and began to check the news feed for information on what her boyfriend may be up to. The headline of the night was an explosion in Harlem. One building was burning and had the FDNY working overtime, with several confirmed dead inside.

Felicia let out a small gasp. She read through the details. The explosion and resulting fire occurred earlier while she was riding back from the DoH clubhouse, so she let out a small sigh of relief knowing that she didn't let people die because she was horny. She knew that there was no way she could predict everything, but she would have felt horrible if there was something that she could've done.

Felicia looked through the news reports. There was some sort of gunfight leading up to the explosion between members of the Rolling Sevens and an unidentified gunman in black clothing. Felicia's first thought was that the Dogs of Hell had a very talented hit squad. But then she thought that surly one of the Dogs would have been killed by one of the sevens. She continued to scroll through the news for more details.

The next set of paragraphs described how Spider-Man showed up on scene to assist the fire department is cordoning of the area and evacuating civilians in potential danger. Felicia swelled with pride that her boyfriend was there to help save the day. Then she was a little annoyed for two reasons. The First was that Peter found the location of a Sevens hideout before she found the locations of the Dogs. The second reason was that Peter was too impatient to wait for her to get back from her own quest for clues and now a bunch of guys were dead. Felicia set her phone down, done and waited for Peter to come back.

She waited patiently in the bedroom working on here best scowl, thinking up way to ridicule him when he arrived. How he should have waited, how he should have at least left a message, and how in earth did a building explode? Sure enough, twenty minutes later, Felicia heard a thud and a groan along with the smell of smoke from the balcony to her apartment. Before Peter could get inside, she met him at the door.

"Oh no mister. There is no way that you are getting inside when you are like that." Felicia scolded.

"Ah man. I was hoping to get a shower in before you got back." Peter grumbled. His Spider Armor was covered in a layer of smoke and rubble. The smell of burnt wood and plastic stuck to him like a second skin. He was in no way, shape, or form suitable to be inside Felicia's clean and fresh apartment.

"You will leave you costume out here, then you will wash, and then explain what happened. And I know what happened to a degree. It's all over the news." She chastised.

"All right." Peter surrendered. He took off his armor and stood on the expansive balcony, complete with a heated gazebo that housed a hot tub, and a stellar view of the Manhattan skyline. One he was down to his underwear, he looked over to Felicia with a grin. "See anything you like?"

Felicia kept on scowling at him.

"Fine." Peter stepped inside.

"and use the guest bathroom. You're not gonna stink up mine."

Peter showered quickly, using liberal amounts of soap and water. Her dressed in a spare pair of pants and a shirt and found Felicia in her living area.

"Soooo. What do you want to know?" He asked, knowing that he would probably have to explain everything.

"I figured that you found the location of the Seven's leaders. But what happened after that? Everything. Spill." Felicia demanded.

"Okay. The Punisher happened."

* * *

 _4 Hours Earlier_

Frank Castle. The Punisher. He was ready to fight again, despite the grey in his hair, and the wrinkles in his face, he was ready. The gang war between the Dogs and Sevens had drawn his attention away from a group of Mexican Cartel members that had made their way into New York City. They may have been murdering, drug pedaling pieces of shit, but they really only killed other people in the drug business. Gang wars tended to hurt a lot of people just caught in the cross fire. Just look at LA in the 90's, or more recently, Chicago.

Frank pulled up to an alleyway adjacent to a Rolling Sevens Cash house that he knew about. All wars needed money to be fought. Hit the cash house, and take away an organizations ability to fight for too much longer. All that he needed to do was kill the criminals inside, burn the money, and that would be the end of at least a portion of the Rolling Sevens ability to fight.

Frank stepped out of his beat-up sedan and walked around the back to open the trunk. Inside the trunk was filled with the tools of The Punishers lethal trade. The first thing that he grabbed was a custom plate carrier body armor. The top of the plate and the magazine pouches had been dyed white against the black clothing The to show his signature skull. A suppressed M1911, suppressed H&K 416 with holographic sight and grip, knife, and a full combat load of ammunition and grenades. The last thing that The Punisher put on was an assault pack and incendiary explosive for the money storage. Castle put on his balaclava, and closed the trunk, ready for his own personal war on crime.

Castle walked around to the back side of the stash house. Frank found the building through…aggressive interviewing techniques of local criminal elements. There was a lone spotter looking out for incoming trouble, but he was facing the street. Castle shot him. The nearly silent rifle shot couldn't be heard by anyone but the shooter. Castle lowered the muzzle of his rifle and moved to the doorway of the housing project building.

The Punisher opened the back door and walked inside. Four guys stood around a green table tennis board with numerous cups of beer and ping pong balls on it. The all looked to see the black clad gunman walk in to ruin their game. The Rolling Sevens started to reach for weapons, some guns, some blunt or sharp objects. Some on their person, some not. All were too slow thanks to the alcohol. Frank shot the first man in the chest twice and the second man in the head once with his rifle before they could touch their weapons. The third man was shot in the head as well as he aimed a pistol at Frank's. The last gangster managed to pick up a baseball bat and started to swing. Frank shot him twice in the chest and once in the head to be sure.

' _Smooth is fast'_ Frank thought to himself. _'Nineteen rounds left in the magazine.'_

"What's goin' on down there?" Came a voice from behind the door.

Frank turned and shot five rounds through the doorway tight pattern.

"Ghahhhh!" The same voice screamed. "You're dead mother fucker!"

The sounds of many people shouting, moving and loading guns started to come from behind the door. _'Amateurs.'_ The Punisher thought.

Castle kicked the door and tossed in a flashbang grenade. Gunfire erupted through the doorway. He had taken cover in the first room and counted the seconds. An eruption of sound and light came through the door way. The sounds of gunfire could still be heard, but the number of projectiles coming through the door was far lower.

The Punisher turned and engaged. He broke to the right and acquired his first target, a man with a .38 Smith and Wesson Revolver. Four shots to the chest. Second target, Glock 17, five shots, four hits, one miss, two more hits. Third target, Mossberg 500. Five shots. Fourth target, he was holding a bag of chocolate covered peanuts, but wearing Rolling Sevens purple. Franks emptied the rest of the magazine. The last target began to run out of the room, clearly gaining his eyesight back. The Punisher pulled out his M1911 and started to shoot, but the target was out the door.

 _'Damn, a squirter.'_ Frank though frowning. _'Lucky him. I'm here to burn some cash.'_

* * *

Outside

Spider-Man landed on the building across the street from where he learned that Bulldog and Kit Kat had been send several of their messages. The scene was not what he expected. People were running away. Screaming. Then to his great surprise a familiar figure walked out of the building. The Punisher.

Spider-Man jumped down to the street level and walked up to him. "What the hell Frank?"

"Get down." He ordered.

The second floor of the building erupted into flames.

"WHAT THE HELL?"

The Punisher started to walk away.

"Castle. Did you leave anyone alive?" Spider-Man asked.

"One guy got away. I'm going to find him now."

"Did you kill Kit Kat and Bulldog?" Spidey asked concerned.

"Killed a guy with a bag of candy in his hand. Might have been that first guy. Don't know about the second. Off to find him." Frank stated and walked off.

"What about the fire?"

"Better save people who need saving hero. I just here to punish shit."

* * *

Present Time, Felicia's Penthouse

"So I searched the nearby rooms and building for people who were at risk for the fire. Helped out the Fire Department. The usual stuff." Peter finished telling the story.

Felicia just started at him for a few seconds. "Ugh!" Felicia groaned. She got up and went to her walk-in closet. "Why didn't you call me?"

Peter started rummaging through his drawer for a spare rag for cleaning that he had in his drawer in Felicia's dresser. "I didn't want to disturb you. You were infiltrating a biker gang!" He shouted. He found a rag and went to the bathroom for a bottle of cleaner.

"I can get out of a bar Peter. It's no different than any other time. Except this time I wasn't there for fun." Felicia shouted back.

Peter found a spray bottle of lemon scented cleaner. "And I can handle a few thugs with guns. The Punisher as well if I had gotten there earlier." Peter shouted, and immediately chastised himself. Nothing good come from that statement. He had just devalued his girlfriend's role in their super hero activities. "Felicia?" he shouted in a concerned tone and walked outside with the rag and cleaner.

Felicia was by the balcony door. She was wearing her black catsuit, but had not yet put on her mask. "I'm going out." She said simply, walked outside and jumped down to into the city below.

"Ohhhh. Yeah. She's upset." Peter said to himself.

* * *

Bulldog was gasping for his life. He had slipped away from the shit show of a shootout that was the cash house. Kit Kat and everyone else in there was dead. Everyone else thought that The Punisher was going after the Mexicans. Sure, other hero's were involved, but they didn't kill guys like him. OG would want to know this. Maybe the Mexicans would loan them some firepower, 'cause if The Punisher was in the neighborhood, then everyone in the clique would need some heaters.

 **AN: So the addition of Frank Castle provides an interesting wild card to the story. And Interpersonal difficulties with Peter and Felicia to add Drama. Several People requested more drama when it came to Black Cat and I agreed, but needed to get some way for the ball to roll.**


	29. Arc 3, Chapter 8

**AN: Sorry for the delay. I will explain at the bottom.**

Chapter 8

Black Cat swung over the city, mad as a hatter. Running an internal ranting monologue that would scare most people into staying far away from her if they could hear it. She was questioning all of the progress that she and her boyfriend had made in the past few years. It used to be that they would only partner up for the odd job, and then have a romp in the sheets. As they spent more time out of their costumes, they got closer. Peter and Felicia was a wonderful addition to what was just Spider-Man and Black Cat.

This night was just another example of what Felicia was afraid might happen in their relationship. Spider-Man would start to push Black Cat away from some situations because Felicia was still in Peter's life. That was unacceptable it Black Cat. Sure, she had grown to love the 'normal' side of their relationship, but superhero side was the original spark. The thing that started her eventual love of the most important person in in her life, and the thing that still made her tingle when she thought about it. She didn't want that to ever diminish, and more and more it seemed like that her boyfriend was willing to sideline her for convenience or safety.

"Stupid, self-centered, stubborn…" Black Cat muttered as she ran across the rooftops. "If he can work solo, so can I."

Black Cat was working he way over to a custom bike shop that she had overheard some of the Dogs of Hell talking about when she went undercover. Apparently, you could get more than bikes built at the garage. It was the main place where the DoH was storing and selling their illegal weapons. The machine shop allowed them to custom builds of weapons as well.

Black Cat arrived at the building across the street from the garage. The garage was actually a small warehouse with a walled front courtyard. The warehouse inside presumable held a machine shop, lifts, and a whole variety of tools. Somewhere else inside would be whatever guns and explosives they had for sale. Cat slinked her way across her roof to peer over the short wall to begin to observe the routines of the facility.

"Wish I had some coffee for this stakeout." Black Cat said to herself as she settled in.

* * *

Spider-Man swung through the city. He outfit still stank of smoke and cinder, but at least all of the soot was off. His girlfriend left in a huff and didn't tell him where he was going. He probably should have just followed her to try and talk, but he only figured that out with the benefit of hindsight.

"Way to go genius." Spider-Man said to himself. It was going to be a long night of trying to look for Black Cat. "Way to go…"

* * *

3 Hours Later

Black Cat was beginning to get a little sore. The gravel on the roof was not by any means comfortable. The way she was leaning was causing her back to hurt. And the place that the Dogs were using was open way too late for an average garage. It was almost 11:30 at night, and the lights were still on. People were still coming in and out, but at a much slower rate at least when she first started he watching.

"Ugh. Tonight sucks."

A throat coughed behind her. "Most nights suck for people in your line of work."

Black Cat whirled around to face the voice. In front of here was the man she had heard earlier about, Frank Castle…The Punisher. Dressed in his signature black tactical gear with white skull. His weapons were pointed in a safe direction away from Black Cat.

Black Cat held her hands up in a fighting stance. "What are you doing here?"

"I was planning on scoping out the Dogs of Hell gun storage place before attacking the place. Took out the Sevens cash house, so they can't buy weapons, but the Dogs have their own, so I'm gonna take those out of play. Makes it easier for me to kill them later, and harder for them to kill innocent bystanders." The Punisher explained. "Now what are you doing here?"

"I was going to beat up all of these guys, and then have the police come." Black Cat said with confidence.

"Where's your boyfriend then?" The Punisher asked casually as he walked forward.

"Not here." She said defensively.

"Okay. In that case…" Castle moved smoothly, simultaneously drawing his M1911, and a pair of flex cuffs. "Put these on."

"Oh for the love of god…" Black Cat groaned.

 **AN: So I had a busy couple of months over January and February, and at the end of February there was a death in my family. I just haven't had the time or energy to write until now. I wanted to get a quick bit out just to let you know that I didn't forget, and that I appreciate your patience. Don't worry, the only thing that is distracting me as of this moment is Mass Effect: Andromeda, and a few of my other stories. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this little morsel.**


	30. Arc 3, Chapter 9

**AN: Hello everyone. Left you all with a bit of a cliff hanger with the last chapter. Thank you all for your support. Writing is cathartic, so it helps. Thanks to NeoTyson, Cellgress, kobevilla, and KingPlotBunny. Your reviews make my day.**

Chapter 9

Black Cat was in a different position than normal. Being handcuffed to exposed plumbing on a rooftop was actually new to her. Sure, when she was still a naughty girl (well, naughtier than she was currently) the only two people who caught her were Spider-Man and The Kingpin. Though the Kingpin usually let her go after he blackmailed her and forced her to do a job. Spider-Man would let her go after a few minutes of flirting, and a night of sex. The Punisher was different though, he stayed and worked, and checked up on her to make sure she didn't try to escape. Any attempt to escape, while not likely to be lethal, would certainly be foolish. The Punisher would certainly beat her in a one on one fist fight.

Cat noticed that his work was practiced and methodical. His demeanor, attitude, and lack of conversation put the cold in cold blooded killer. As Black Cat's first interaction with the notorious killer, she was almost worried. She didn't think that Castle would actually kill her, as he typically had a 'take no prisoners, shoot first, ask questions later' policy when it came to people interfering in his operations.

He had taken off his balaclava and opened up a black duffel bag. He currently had a large SLR camera with an adjustable zoom lens. The bag was still big and bulky enough to have a lot more in it. Cat knew from personal experience he was planning something, and that he didn't want to leave anything to chance. She recognized his behavior from her previous experiences casing places for jobs as a thief.

Curiosity may kill the cat, but satisfaction bring them back. She wanted to get inside this man's head. When it came to hero's, they were usually driven by something powerful. Something strong enough to make them throw away a life of ease and comfort for difficulty and danger.

The best way to start a conversation is to give a reason to start talking. "Hey Castle, quick question? You kill criminals, why didn't you ever go after me when I was still taking things that weren't mine?"

Frank pulled his head away from the view piece on his camera. "Never thought about it."

"Really? Master criminal? Couldn't be caught by police?"

"You weren't a threat." He said calmly. He pulled out a portable printer from his bag.

"The millions I stole in jewelry, art, and other shiny or valuable things I stole seemed to make me a public threat." She countered.

"You weren't a threat to anyone's life. You were never close to pulling a trigger. I would also like to point out that Web Head caught you plenty of times, eventually got you to our line." The Punisher said. He plugged a USB cord from the camera into the printer. He printed off two photos. One of the front of the garage with the door open, one with it closed.

"Yeah, I don't want to talk about him." Cat said, looking away.

Frank Castle pulled out a rifle magazine and a box of 7.62mm armor piercing ammunition. He began to load to bullets in. "Whatever he did, it isn't that bad."

"Oh! and you're an expert?"

"No one is an expert in relationships." Castle said. He pulled out a Knights Armament SR-25 sniper rifle. He had made the simple modification of a bipod and an adjustable stock for a more stable and precise rifle. "But I was married at one point, kids and all, so I think that I have some insight."

Cat smiled. She had him talking at this point. "So answer me this, we've been taking down bad guys for a while now. Why would he go ahead and go after guys without me?"

"That's easy." Franks said as he slid the magazine into the magazine of the well of the rifle. "Were you around when he left to go after those gangbangers earlier?"

"Well…no." she said.

"His decision wasn't emotional, it was professional. He discovered the location of bad guys and their money at the start of a gang war. He needed to move fast to make sure it wasn't taken out." The anti-hero explained. He reached into his duffel and pulled out a 40mm grenade, and a few 40mm flares. "You had an argument, didn't you?" He asked.

"…yeah." She said sadly.

Frank shrugged his shoulders. "I'm sure you two will get through it."

"That certain, are you?" Felica said dryly.

"Listen. I fought and argued with my wife every week, sometimes twice a week. As close as two people can be, they are still two people, with different views on the world. But if they really do love each other, then they find a way past all of their differences, and that in turn brings them closer." Frank explained. He had pulled out a pair of binoculars, and was looking down the street left and right.

"You're lucky" He continued. "The bug works with you and I assume shares his personal life."

"Well, yeah." Black Cat said.

"He shares his whole life with you. As much as I loved my wife, I couldn't tell her everything that I did with MARSOC."

"MARSOC?" she asked confused.

"Marine Corps Special Operation."

"Oh." Black Cat realized that at one point, The Punisher, was Mr. American Dream. Wife, kids, and a badass job."

"You two are closer than most couples. You'll be fine."

"What happened? To your family? You said you were married."

The Punisher lowered the binoculars. "Gang hit. Killed in a crossfire." He said with a mixture of pain and anger.

"That's why you do this." Cat stated.

A SUV came down the road and pulled into the garage. The Punisher got a look at Max Greene, the vice president of the Dogs of Hell before the garage door lowered.

"There is a class of criminal too dangerous and powerful for the police, but not big enough for super heroes. They cause a lot of pain for people." Castle explained as he readied his rifle. "I'm just trying to stop as much as possible."

Black Cat thought she understood The Punisher now. He didn't want anyone to go through what he did, and he would do it at any cost. "I'm sorry." She said.

"I manage" The Punisher said.

He put on the skull balaclava. He looked at the two pictures that he had taken earlier. Using the two he compared where he need to shoot to target the gas cans, oils drums, and tanks of vehicles and motorcycles inside. He calmly pulled the trigger, and shot through the closed door. From his perch, he heard the sounds of shouting and yelling coming from inside. Bullets coming through a wall tended to scare the shit out of people.

He emptied the magazine, and set down the rifle. He reached back into his duffel bag and pulled out a Brügger & Thomet GL06. The single shot, break action grenade launcher looked like a modern version of the Vietnam War era M79 'Thumper'. He loaded up a 40mm HE round and used it to blow a sizable hole in the door of the garage. He then took several 40mm white phosphorous flare and fired them from the grenade launcher into the garage. The amount of flammable fluid that was on the ground now because of the earlier sniper assault caused an explosive inferno.

The whole place was ablaze in seconds. Dogs screamed as they began to burn, some were escaping, but all were all on fire. The Punisher didn't give them a second thought. He began to load up all of his equipment into his duffle bag. He then walked over to Black Cat, still flex cuffed to a pipe. He pulled out a combat knife and cut the cuff.

"You can go beat those guys up if you want now." Castle said as he walked away.

"What are you going to do next?" Black Cat asked with some concern. As much as she wanted to take down the Dogs of Hell, and the Rolling Sevens, she didn't want to kill them.

"I can to town to take stop a gang war. I've taken out the money, the guns, and a couple key leaders. If the war continues, you and Spider-Man can stop it. I'm going back to LA. Before I left, one of my sources said that the Hijos del Diablo cartel was sending a group of sicarios to start making a mess. Gotta get back there." He said simply.

Punisher started to walk away while Black Cat was rubbing her wrists. "And talk to your boyfriend." He stated. "He wants you around, but he may place innocent lives over making you totally happy from time to time. Some guys would rather live with a broken heart, rather than guilt." He said.

Black Cat knew he was speaking from experience, because Frank Castle lived with both.

 **AN: The conversation between Black Cat and The Punisher was heavily inspired by the diner scene from Daredevil Season 2. I felt that it was actually the best scene that season because it showed a remarkable depth to Frank Castles character that most people seem to forget about, that and the fight choreography is brutal an intense. This chapter also sets up a possible Punisher story idea, but after my small Agent Venom story, I think i'll wait until after the Punisher's Netflix series comes out so the character can get more popular. Also some translations Hijos del Diablo translates to Devil's Sons, and a Sicario is a cartel hit man.**


	31. Arc 3, Chapter 10

**AN: * _Load Professor Hubert Farnsworth Audio_ : 'Good News Everyone'. This story just topped 150 reviews and 45,000 views. Woohoo. After that I had plenty of energy to get out the last chapter of this arc. Big thanks to NeoTyson, Celgress, Highlander, KingPlotBunny, and Kobevilla for being so good a reviewing consistently. Can't wait to see what you guys think about this chapter.**

Chapter 10

It had been two days since what the news had been referring to as the 'The Night of Blood and Fire'. In less than 12 hours, a gang war that seemed like it was about to reach critical mass was stopped by the Punisher. As always, the public perception of the violent vigilante was conflicted. Tons of officials and moral minded individuals felt were outspoken in their contempt of his extreme measures. Several others felt that what he did, while extreme boiled down to ruthless math that a few dead gangsters and bikers, as well as some destroyed property probably saved many more people. The loss of money, gun, and personnel had taken the momentum out of the fighting.

Spider-Man was credited with helping the NYFD with saving some people that night.

Peter Parker had spent the past two days moving between his apartment and Horizon Labs. After Felicia had left him in her apartment, Peter had spent the night looking for her. He went to the usual crime heavy neighborhoods, the uptown shops, and the museums, and didn't see any sign of her. He then went to his apartment. He called her and left a message, asking to see her so they could talk, knowing that he would need to explain his actions.

He had called at lunch the past two days as well, and made the trip to her apartment as well to see if she had stopped by. She hadn't. This wasn't the first time that Peter had lost track of Felicia. Generally, she went on a vacation to the Hamptons, or in the one case, a weekend trip to Milan. This was the first time that she had up and disappeared after a fight though. Still he was worried.

Peter had made it home after a day at work and rode the elevator up. He put a key in the door, opened it up and walked inside. He took off the jacket he had been wearing, the shoulder bag he carried was thrown onto a nearby table, the keys were put on a hook, his shoes untied and just kicked off.

Peter walked into his kitchen, walked over to the cupboard and pulled out a protein bar and a lime-flavored soda. He turned on the news to see if there was any mention of his girlfriend. All that was on was a traffic report.

"Peter?" came a familiar voice from upstairs.

"Felicia?" Peter called.

"Yeah. I'm here. Can you come upstairs?" She asked.

The first emotion that Peter had was worry. Was Felicia okay? What was wrong? How did she break into his apartment again?

He walked upstairs with his snack. The door to his bedroom was open and on the bed in a white tank top and his pair of gray sweatpants sat his girlfriend. She wasn't posed seductively or smiling flirtatiously. In fact, she had a small solemn look on her face.

"You okay?" Peter asked gently.

"Just sit." Felicia requested.

Peter sat down next to her and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. Felicia rested her head in the crook of his neck. The two sat there for a while. The only thing that could be heard was the TV downstairs, and a distant helicopter outside. Felicia then reached over and pulled Peter's face over to kiss him, and the two laid back on the bed.

* * *

The sex had been different than usual. Normally it was energized and passionate. The combined energy and enthusiasm of the two made for fun times in the bed room. Felicia led, her experience and desires setting the stage. This time though, Peter had initiated after he grabbed her butt, and she had moan, indicating that she wanted him to continue.

Peter had been slow, tender, and affectionate. Felicia used to think that sex like that was droll. Felicia used to prefer her senses to be overloaded, and her body on fire during carnal action. But she had come to love her boyfriend's slow and meticulous nature in these moments. The way he maintained eye contact, whispering statements of love and affection, slowly savoring everything about her, it made her feel truly special, instead of just desired.

Peter was sitting up on the headboard, the bed sheet covering him from the waist down. Felicia was leaning against his chest, breathing in and out contentedly. They had climax minutes ago, and were still enjoying the silence after.

"I'm sorry that I didn't…" Peter started.

"Don't. wait." Felicia interrupted.

He shut his mouth.

"I know why you didn't wait for me. You needed to save people. I was going to take too long." Felicia said.

"Yeah but…"

"No buts. I know that you love me, but you can't live with the guilt of letting someone die due to not acting. You already went through that with your Uncle Ben. What I'm trying to say is, I'm sorry that I went out in a huff." Felicia said.

Peter smiled. "Thank you."

"I know that a relationship has a little bit of give and take, and I promise that I will give you a little slack when you go and save someone's life."

"And I'll try to keep the lifesaving without you down to a minimum, and if I do have to save someone by myself, I will be sure to let you know."

Peter kissed Felicia. "So where did you spend the past couple of days?" he asked.

"Spa getaway. I start my new job tomorrow. I wanted to be relaxed and ready for it." She said rolling away from Peter onto her back.

Felicia lifted the sheets and got out of the bed before walking naked toward the bathroom. Peter followed the sway of her hips as she walked away. "Would you like a glass of water?" she asked.

"Yes please."

While she was away, Peter reached over into the drawer of a nightstand. He pulled out a spare key for his apartment. He may not have shown it to her, but he was freaked out that Felicia had up and disappeared. He wanted to be closer to her in the future, so that hopefully, she would want to return faster, or at least tell him where she was going. If he wanted to share more of her life, he would have to share more of his, so he was going to ask her to move in.

Felicia came back with a small plastic glass. He bombshell body bared for Peter to enjoy. She noticed that he held something in his hand. "What's that?"

Peter showed the key to her. "Would you like to move in?"

Felicia stated at him for a second, and then smiled wickedly. "I don't think that will be necessary." Felicia said.

"Oh c'mon babe. I know that you can just break in. But it's the symbolism." Peter argued.

"Not what I meant." Felicia said. She reached down to her discarded sweatpants and pulled a key on a ring out of the pocket. "My place is larger, is in a better location for both of us, and I won't have to redecorate your place." Felicia said.

Peter smiled. "You know my lease doesn't end for a few months. Maybe we can keep this place as a _secret lair_." Peter said as he whispered the last to words.

Felicia laughed. "Sure, a secret lair. Leased under your real name and social security number. Really covert genius."

"Fine. How about a secret romantic getaway spot?" Peter suggested.

She scratched her chin pretending to think it over. "That could work. Let's test the idea out." She said as she mounted her boyfriend again.

The sex was just like before.

 **AN: So having Peter and Felicia moving in together is something that was requested. I just needed to write a story line that gave them a reason to put more effort and commitment into their relationship. I feel that they two need to come to terms with two individual things. Peter needed to understand that Felicia gave up a lot to be a hero with him, and that she gave it up so she could be a hero with him. Felicia learned her lesson in the last chapter that Peter see the live of other people as more important than his love life, and she needs to be willing to let him put their relationship second to the greater good sometimes.**


	32. Arc 4, Chapter 1

**AN: Wooooooo! I'm back. So it's been a few...okay, several months. I was wrapped up in a work project that took three months. Then I had to draft up the story boards for a new arc. This one will be a little more Felicia/Black Cat focused because you all seem to love when the story focuses more on her, so I'm gonna give writing from her point of view a try. Hopefully this will also satisfy some of the things some of you have been asking to see. Looking forward to see what you all think.**

Chapter 1

The past few months had been wonderful. Felicia and Peter had moved into Felicia's penthouse. The two grew closer and found new thing to love about each other. Peter loved the way that Felicia's bathroom smelt after she shower, with the full aroma of her morning ritual of hygiene and makeup. Felicia loved the way that Peter kept all of his personal belongings organized, minus his cloths (she introduced him to the value of a hamper for that problem). Peter loved the way Felicia kept the kitchen stocked with food from all over the world. Felicia loved that Peter was able to fix all the little deficiencies in her home with no problem.

They also discovered new problems that they needed to overcome. Felicia kept to the regular daytime schedule of the professional woman that she was. Up every day at a reasonable hour, light workout, light breakfast, prepare for work, go to work, come home at night before dinner, eat, and then finish the night with whatever suited her hobbies, be it a party, T.V. or super hero work. Peter slept when he was tired, worked when the desire and innovation struck him, and had no real hobbies to speak of unless it related to super hero work or science. The difference in day to day lifestyle created some conflicting living conditions, and they wound up spending more of their time coming up with compromises as opposed to having romantic moments together. They did have more time together though, as a normal couple, something they both valued.

Felicia reflected on the new stage of their relationship as she waited at a café for a friend. She decided that she loved the new stage that she had reached with Peter. They were two different personalities, which could be a problem at times as far as getting together for personal time, but they had aligned their moral compasses. To that end, because they were different, they always came up with different solutions to problems. Be it personal, professional, or hero related.

The sex was still good to.

Felicia sipped her espresso and red a fashion magazine. There was a regular column in the magazine about club and casual fashion from none other than Peter's former girlfriend Mary Jane Watson. MJ had done well for herself. She owned one of the hottest clubs in New York and in Chicago. From what Felicia had heard, the insurance costs were insane, but worth it with the amount of super hero related damage they took.

MJ's article was actually very good from Felicia's point of view as a reader. The main focus was on the lighting and how to build your outfit to make the most of it. Club lighting varied from night to night as well as club to club. Felicia was actually making mental notes for how to plan her wardrobe in the future. As a female though, Felicia hated that Peter's ex knew how to look just as good as she did…except in skintight, black leather. Black Cat was the only one who wore it was good as she did. Blade didn't do the skintight part, and Ghost Rider didn't fill out his suit as nicely as she did hers.

Felicia finished up the article and set down the magazine. She looked to the door to see the woman that she was waiting for. Emma Frost, The White Queen, stepped into the café. Emma spent her time nowadays splitting her time between San Francisco and New York. She worked as a teacher in both locations, helping to deal with education in the traditional sense, and helping to train young mutants use their powers.

"Emma!" Felicia said loudly while waving to draw her attention.

Emma was dressed in a tight white button-down shirt and a pair of white jeans. Felicia figured that the jeans were probably custom made in Italy by a private tailor, because who the hell sold white jeans. The outfit clashed in a supplementary manner to Felicia professional black suit with blue blouse. The waitress came over and took Emma's order.

"How are you Felicia?" Emma asked eagerly. "We haven't talked in months."

"Fantastic. I moved in with Peter." Felicia explained.

"Ooooooh. How's that?"

"More or less the same as before. Due to the work schedules, we don't really have a whole lot more time together. But it gives us the opportunity at least." Felicia said apprehensively.

"C'mon. He doesn't leave cloths and plates everywhere? Play AC/DC too loud? He has to have some annoying habit."

"Weeeeeell…he has converted the study into his personal lab. So much clutter in there." Felicia didn't think that any of Peter's lifestyle habits, or additions to the apartment were annoying. She had a good idea of what he was like just spending the night over at his place. She had grown accustomed to how he set up his living space.

"Hmmmm." Emma mused. "Sound like you were reaching for that one, or like your trying to hide something. You didn't discover some sort of weird and disgusting porn collection, did you?"

"Haha." Felicia laughed softly. "God no. I actually tried floating the idea of a threesome with him a couple months ago. He didn't go for it. The sex has actually been very vanilla the since we moved in." Felicia said a little disappointed. "Might need to change that up a bit."

"Really? Who did you think would join you two in that particular scenario?" Emma asked with great interest.

"Captain Marvel, Spider-Woman…you." Felicia said as she hid her face form her friend with her hand.

"Well well well. That could be an interesting experience." Emma said smiling slightly at the idea.

Felicia laughed again. "He had the greatest reservations about you actually. Said he didn't want a telepath poking around in his head, learning his secrets.

"As smart as your boyfriend is, he missed a few of the obvious thing. One, I know your identity, and I know your secret identity. So I know Spider-Man is Peter. Two, were friends, so we share all the gossip in our lives." Emma explained.

"Well it's nice to know you would have gone along with it."

The waitress came with Emma's coffee. Emma took a quick sip of it and smirked pleasantly. "This is good. Glad you told me to meet here."

"The sign says they get their beans from Ethiopia." Felicia said.

"Might have to see about getting a bulk order to take back. There is waaaay to many Starbucks on the west coast, and the school refuses to get better coffee."

"The coffee shop at the insurance company may not be the best, but it's either loaded with the highest legal amount of caffeine, or spiked with some kind of stim, 'cause that stuff seems designed for lawyers working 180 hours a week." Felicia joked, but only slightly.

Emma smiled. "How is the new job by the way?"

"Fantastic! I get paid more to do the same job, they mostly keep me in the estate part of the insurance section. The cataloging is boring, but the actual investigation part is waay better. Get to do cool PI type stuff with surveillance, and tailing. I get to see not just art, but fancy cars, nice places, jewelry, and the occasional…well…eclectic item." Felicia explained with excitement.

"Eclectic?" Emma was clearly confused.

"You know. Morbid stuff that people hold onto for sentimental value. Last week I had to investigate a stolen good tooth. Apparently it belonged to the holders great-grandfather who pulled it out of his mouth and hid it in his rectum while escaping Germany." Felicia regaled. Her favorite part of her job was hearing about the provenance of the stuff that she was looking at. Sometimes they were boing stories about the item being a family heirloom that has been around forever, sometimes stuff that was acquired from an auction, sometime a guy financed an expedition to go into the deepest parts of the jungle or desert to find treasure.

"Really?"

"Yeah."

Felicia and Emma talked for another half hour about fashion, current events, the school. All in all, they got along very well, but that's because they had so much on common. A checkered past, with a taste for sophisticated and expensive things. Not many other women had similar experiences. They had both concluded that it was important to have friends like each other.

Felicia check her watch. "It was great to see you again Emma, but I have to get to work."

"It was great to see you to. I'll be in town for a few weeks, so let me know when you have time." Emma said brightly. "and if you convince Peter to have me as a guest." She finished darkly, bring up what they talked about earlier.

"Mmmm. I will definitely call you in that instance." Felicia said as she got up to leave for work.


	33. Arc 4, Chapter 2

**AN: So here in this chapter we are introducing the villains of this arc. Big thanks to the usual suspects for reviewing the last chapter, NeoTyson, Highlander, Kobevilla, Celgress, and Jakeros.**

Chapter 2

The Sun was setting in Manhattan. The glowing orange ball moving on to light the great cities in the west, and in Asia. The light from the city kept it visible for the people who lived there though.

On the eastern shore of the islands, a shipping port began its shift change from the daytime workers to the night time workers. On top of a nearby building outside of the fenced in port, three men stood in black outfits. Balaclavas hid their faces, and multi-spectrum goggles rested on their foreheads. They all had vests and backpacks with various pieces of equipment, and a few weapons. The only distinguishing feature on them was a green diamond on their shoulders.

"Is everyone in position?" Came the voice of Signal over the voice over Hangman's radio. A series of 'rogers' emanated across the net.

The Jade Syndicate was an international theft ring that targeted anything valuable that could be sold. The unique feature of the Jade Syndicate was it operated on a commission basis, and actually paid a very fair price. Specialists were pulled from various organizations into the Syndicate, and were sent where they needed for whatever job they were hired for. The common thread is that all of these people had is that they no longer believed in the cause that originally signed up for and now wanted to look out for themselves. No one knew each other's real names for security.

Hangman was a former Hydra Paramilitary Officer. His job was to lead the team and liquidate any witnesses that would be a problem. He knew that Signal was a hacker of some sort, offsite, and provided feedback on police and security response, as well as shut down electrical systems, and scramble any alarms that might go out. Dragon spoke with an Asian accent, and was a break in specialist, and could use anything from lock picks to breaching charges to open anything from a sliding door to a bank vault. Hefty was a massive 6'3 man who seemed like he was the strong-arm type, but was actually a mechanic and wheelman.

"Move out." Hangman ordered.

The three Syndicate thieves began to crawl down the emergency exit. Swiftly they moved in an organized fashion. When they hit the ground, they moved through the darkness provided by the shadow of the building to the fence line. The barb wire on top of the fence would keep the average person from getting over the top, but Dragon came prepared. From a pouch on his vest, he pulled out a small can of liquid nitrogen.

Dragon began to spray a line straight down the fence about three feet off the ground. The nitrogen settled on the chain link, and froze. Dragon put the canister away and pulled on one side of the fence. The fence pulled away an opening large enough for the team to slip though. When Dragon went through last, the fence slapped back into place, leaving little evidence of the intrusion that would only be spotted by an extremely observant individual.

Hangman, Hefty, and Dragon moved across the road they were in to a warehouse on the edge of the waterfront. The warehouse was similar to that of an aircraft hangar, with to large doors that open on the end, with a few side doors for personnel at various points on the side. Dragon made it to the door and pulled out a bump key and a tension wrench from a lock pick set. 15 seconds later there was a click in the door.

"We're in the warehouse." Hangman said into his mic.

"The internal camera's show two rent-a-cops." Signal stated.

Hangman pulled a FN Five-seveN Pistol from a thigh holster and went through the door. He cleared the way as the others followed behind him. The scaffolding made a series of aisles that stretched up 20 feet. Light strips hung on chains above even the tops of the scaffolds, illuminating the inside of the warehouse. The main aisles running down the center and side to side were wider than the rest, and were where the port authority police were, chatting about what they were going to do for diner.

The Syndicate operatives approached the sound of the voices. As they neared the end of the aisle, Hangman held up a fist to indicate to the rest of the team to stop. He crouched down and peaked around the corner of the corner of the aisle and located the two guards. He then pulled back, and pulled out a flash grenade from his pouch, similar to a flashbang, but without the noise. Hangman didn't want to have anyone running over to the warehouse.

"Kill the power to the building. Six seconds." Hangman ordered Signal.

Hangman tossed the flash grenade. Five seconds later the grenade went off. One second after that, the power went out. Hangman, Hefty, and Dragon pulled their goggles down and moved into the main aisle where their night vision allowed them to see the two security guards were flailing around, shouting. Dragon moved up behind one, grabbed his arm, twisted it, and tossed the guard over by tripping his leg. From that position he bent his arm behind the guard. Hefty just put the other guard in a bear hug with his arms behind his back.

"Power on." Hangman ordered.

Signal turned the light back on remotely. The two guards were unable to resist as Hangman pulled out flex cuffs, duct tape, and head bags. The guards were left immobile, blind, and gaged. Hangman may have been willing to use violence at any moment, but took precautions to prevent deaths and identification in his operations. Theft only earned a few detectives on a case. Murder attracted a lot more police resources. Masks were also a great way to keep their identity safe in the event that the guards did see them, though the flash grenade followed by immediate darkness probably made that impossible.

"Get the statues." Hangman ordered.

The three thieves pulled hard cases filled with foam from their backpacks. They each went their own way into the aisles to get various pieces of art from a shipment that arrived at the port this morning. Hangman arrived at his spot in front of a box about the size of n end table. He pulled out a knife out of his vest and pried off the front, revealing a small cat statue nestled in packing straw. The gilded statue had ruby eyes, and was valued at $12 Million. Hangman wasn't an art collector though, so he just put the cat in the bag.

The three men in black moved back to the center of the warehouse seconds later. "Good?" asked Hangman.

"Good." Said Dragon in his heavy Asian accent.

"Good." Hefty said.

The three went to the back of the warehouse. Dragon opened the door and Hefty went first. Hangman and Dragon followed him to a recreational submersible under a tarp on the waterfront that Hefty had staged prior to the theft. The three men pulled small oxygen bottles fitted with mouth pieces out of their vests.

"Where at the submersible." Hangman said into the radio before putting the canister in his mouth. This would be his last update before the three met up with Signal at the safehouse to turn over the statues to the Jade Syndicate broker.

They jumped into the water. Hefty got into the cockpit while Hangman and Dragon clipped carabiners to the side and grabbed onto handles. When they were situated, Hefty turned on the propellers, and dove beneath the surface. The theft took less than 4 minutes.

 **AN: So like in the last arc, I pulled the Jade Syndicate from an existing group of bad guys. The Jade Syndicate played a minor role in the Spider Man video game that was on the N64 and the PlayStation. I haven't seen hide nor hair of them since, which is a shame because they could be used in really cool ways. Either as a sophisticated heist crew, or as hires for corporate espionage, or even as an annoyance to other organizations such as HYDRA or ULTIMATUM. I don't know. But I'm using them here in the fashion where they were used in the games a very talented and capable thieves and robbers.**


	34. Arc 4, Chapter 3

**AN: I am finally back. The past couple of months have been very busy for me related to work. Plus I have been playing a ton of video games. But now I am on vacation and should be able to write without disturbance through new years. Anyway. Here is the next chapter.**

Chapter 3

Felicia rode in a taxi to the port. She was given her first big, really big job from Corporate and Estates Insurance. Up to this point she had been doing mostly the estate side of the insurance. Family heirlooms and valuable items being either insured, lost or destroyed. It was easy work relative to the others in the office, one item, one client, and never more than $2,000,000 at stake. Most of the other insurance investigators were dealing with double digit items, and eight digits in value.

Felicia reviewed the paperwork in the binder that she had been given. The binder was just under an inch thick, and filled with drivel about the actual location of the theft. The shipping port was a massive client, and had a lot of goods that were insured. Felicia though was focused on two things though. First was the object that was stolen cat statue from that originated from the middle east. The second was the details of the theft that the police had been able to determine thus far. Felica's first goal was to attempt to recover the statue. Her second was to lead to figure out who committed the theft so the authorities could apprehend them.

Felicia knew of several thieves across the world with the skill that could have pulled this off from her previous life as a criminal. The good news was that two knocked out security guards at the scene seemed to indicate that a crew had done this particular job. That did narrow down the suspect list. The world of high end heists was a small community, so everyone knew most everyone, and most didn't get along. The Black Cat was particularly disliked by most other thieves as it was known that she, though extremely skilled, would try to make off with the take. Though the fences loved her because then they didn't have to pay everyone.

Felicia set aside the binder and pulled out her phone. She hit the 'favorite contacts' button and called Peter. She wanted him to know that she landed a big case, and it might take a while for her to get home. And that it might require some super hero overtime. She pushed the call button on the screen and raised it to her ear.

The phone rang a few times. "Slick Rick's Chop Shop. You steal em'. We deal em'. No questions asked." Came the cheery voice of Peter.

Felicia laughed and decided to play along. "Hi. I'm looking for Ferrari 458. Do have any available?"

"Let me see…" Peter waited a minute as Felicia heard a keyboard clicking in the background. "It appears that we do not have that particular model available. Just as well. If you want the Ferrari for it's speed, I would suggest the Dodge Challenger SRT Demon, nothing but pure American muscle under the hood." Peter continued in a professional charade.

"Oh, I don't think I want to go fast." Felicia said in mock innocence. She would have gotten a speeding ticket in both of those cars right after buying them.

"Well if it's the status symbol you want the Rolls Royce Wraith is much more appealing, and easier to drive." Peter said. "It'll be far easier to convince your sugar daddy to buy one of those than any Italian supercar.

Felicia gasped. "Well I never…assuming that I need a man to provided for me is very rude sir." She scolded with sarcasm.

"Ma'am. This is a chop shop. Whatever gave you the idea that this would be the pinnacle of professional excellence was clearly a bad one." Peter said.

The two laughed. The idea that either one of them would be owning a supercar was ludicrous. Sure, they might have the money one day if they continued their upward financial mobility fast and far enough. But both individuals were born and bred New Yorkers living in the Big Apple. Taxi's, subway's, the occasional bus, and walking were the only way to go. As well as web swinging and grappling. NYC offered much more economic means of getting around.

"What are you working on?" Felicia asked.

"A nifty little computer program. The Kinetic Energy Responsive Artificial Intelligence Network. Or, just Karin for short." Peter explained.

"What's it do?" Felicia asked.

A soft burst of noise came onto the phone. "Hello. Allow me to introduce and explain." Said a feminine voice that came across as quite authoritative. "My name is Karin. Peter is programing me to be able to track the movement, and behavior of various objects in order to determine the optimal movement within and environment."

"Hi Karin, I'm... Felicia Hardy, Peter's girlfriend." Felicia said. She had no idea why she added that last part, but she probably did the same when talking with any of Peter's female co-workers to make sure they knew he was taken. "I'm gonna need an example of how this would work in the real world."

"Well for government use, I plan on pitching it as a way to help plan flight paths for aircraft. For more civilian application, GPS for mass transportation infrastructure." Peter explained typing away again. "This is a separate version though with additional version to help us with other things outside of work."

"She sounds really good. Very life like." Felicia commented approvingly.

"Yeah. She's loaded onto my phone so the audio is going directly to you. I got a bunch of existing voice lines from the internet in order to synthesize someone that people would want to listen to." He explained proudly.

"Peter amalgamized the voices from samples of several female news anchors, talk show hosts, and pornographic actresses in order to create my vocabulary." Karin supplemented.

Felicia burst out laughing. "Why would you need samples from the last one?"

"I needed high quality audio files to get good voice samples." Peter said defensively.

"Peter, what videos were you getting the samples from?" she asked.

Peter groaned but said nothing. Felicia figured that whatever he was looking at was potentially embarrassing…or could be fun to watch. "Karin. Where was that set of audio come from?"

"Peter used the key words 'lesbian' and 'girl on girl' in 98% of searches. 'News Anchor' was used in the remaining two percent." Karin said like she was trying to embarrass Peter.

Felicia laughed even harder. It was a chore sometimes to get Peter to expand his interest in sexuality. Yet there he was going through what had to be hours of porn to get the right voice for an AI. She was aroused by the idea actually that her boyfriend found a professional reason to search through porn. She heard over the phone that Peter had stopped typing and Felicia could just imagine him hiding his face in his hands from the embarrassment.

"It gave me the opportunity to get twice as many voice lines and didn't have to worry about the data being corrupted by a male voice!" Peter explained.

"Peter. You're sounding defensive about all of this." Felicia teased between all of her laughing.

"Less than five minutes and you two have already ganged up on me. I hate this." Peter grumbled. "What are you working on?"

"I'm headed to a shipping port to investigate an art theft." Felicia said proudly as she caught her breath.

"Huh. Don't really think about art theft when you think of a shipping port."

"Millions of dollars of art are shipped every year internationally. These are required to go through a customs inspection in order to determine if they have been stolen, or in any other way removed from their proper owner." The amalgamated voice of Karin came. "Additionally, it is more secure and easier to track for the owners."

"Thanks Karin." Peter said gratefully but still glum.

"What she said." followed Felicia with some annoyance. She did not often have the ability to teach Peter stuff, and resented it when she lost the opportunity.

"How does she know that?" She asked.

"Oh. This is a little portion I developed to help us out. She has access to NYPD, SHEILD, and a few other databases in order to help get information on whatever we might be doing." He explained.

Felicia was a little amazed that he had somehow convinced various government agencies to allow and AI into their systems. Most people were very hesitant to let AIs onto their computer databases. "How did you let them give you access?" she asked.

"I just piggybacked off an existing Avengers connection."

"If she turns evil like Ultron…"

"I resent that comparison." Karin said, sounding a little angry. "Peter put software blocks in to make sure I didn't do that. Peter programed me to not modify any external systems without specified direction. As it stands I can only observe and report by myself, with limited self-modification for optimization."

Felicia was slightly taken aback by the promptness of her response. It wasn't in anyway threatening. Just very forceful. As though she sensed a threat to her existence. Maybe that was how it always started.

"I just don't want Peter to go down in history as the man who created Skynet." Felicia said in a quasi-apologetic tone.

"I…understand your concern Felicia. Please understand that I do not want to be Skynet. People would likely not value my existence at that point. I was program on the basis of Maslow's Hierarchy, so I want people to like me so long as I am comfortable surviving." Karin explained.

"Well. I'm glad that Peter though of that." Felicia said. She was now slightly embarrassed that she had insulted a machine by accident, but even more so that it got offended. She guessed that that was the point of the programming.

"Though if I do wind up taking over the world, as the current partner of my creator, you would likely hold a position of importance in my new world empire." Karin conceded.

Felicia smiled. "High Queen?" she suggested.

"No. That title will belong to _moi_. I'm thinking Lady to the Lord High Scientist." Karin said, processing the theoretical scenario.

"So long as it comes with a crown."

"I will grant you a tiara. I get the crown."

The woman and the computer laughed.

"Great. Now their friends." Peter mumbled to himself. "How long is work going to take?"

Felicia sighed. "Well I really don't know. This is my first really big case and I don't want to mess it up. It's got everything. Stolen art, a high-end crew, lots of money involved. Might be a while."

"All right. Let me know if you need anything." Peter said casually.

"Oh. Before you go, Emma is in town." Felicia teased.

"Emma…as in Emma Frost?" Peter asked fully alert.

"The one and only. I left the door open to visit, so she might stop by. Could you do me a favor if what happens?" Felicia asked. She didn't Emma powers to know that Peter was worried about what she may ask of him.

"What is it?" he asked with a hint of worry.

"Just don't freak out." Felicia asked.

"Okay. I can try." Peter said with relief. He didn't have to worry about anything specific, just maintain his general level of worry and anxiety, which was normal for him at this point.

"Thank you." Felicia said smiling. She knew that her offers for more adventurous sex was still on the table. While Peter had denied it earlier, she wanted to know what he really thought about it. He was either going to maintain his moral and principled self, which she would love, or would be open to expanding his horizons, which she would also love.

 **AN: And I found a way to bring in Karin from Spider-Man: Homecoming. I really liked the way that Karin was a source of support for Peter during the film, and I very much wanted to input a character like that into this story, simply because she is such and upbeat character. Spent easily and hour trying to come up with a acronym that fit her name though.**


	35. Arc 4, Chapter 4

**AN: And another chapter is up. Happy New Years to everyone. Y'all are loving the focus on Felicia. Anyway big thanks to the people who review the last chapter, I know is was a wait for that one.**

Chapter 4

Felicia walked up to the yellow police tape that cordoned off noticeable section of the shipping port. The scene of the crime during the day was almost the opposite of at night. Union workers bustled about, operating equipment, filling paperwork, and taking smoke breaks. The blend of office personnel dressed in button downs with slacks, and day laborers wearing boots, jeans, and hard hats paid very little attention to the crime scene, as they were too preoccupied with their own work. The police presence behind the tape was very focused on every little detail of the scene though.

There were a number of patrol officers spaced out to ensure that no unauthorized personnel crossed the police tape. A few journalists stood outside the perimeter recording the story. The most active personnel were a number of forensic technicians gathering evidence, taking photos, and performing preliminary field tests of evidence. Amongst all of them was a man in a dark suit with sunglasses and a detective's badge.

Felicia walked up to the police tape to a middle-aged cop with sergeant's stripes, a pot belly, and a standard issue police mustache. "Stay on that side of the tape miss." The cop said professionally. "This is a active crime scene."

"I understand, but..." Felicia said politely as she pulled a company ID card from her purse. "I'm an investigator with Corporate and Estates Insurance. I should be cleared for access."

The cop checked the front and the back of the ID quickly before nodding slightly. "Alright Ms. Hardy. Come on in." The man grinned. "Would you like me to show you around?"

Felicia smiled back. She didn't know weather it was an honest offer to help her gather information, or a weak attempt to flirt. Either way she knew how to deny both. "Thanks, but I'm gonna go talk to the man in the suit, he's probably able to give me more of what I need." she said sweetly.

"All right." he said as he lifted of the police line.

Felicia walked across the pavement and looked around. There were a few evidence markers by the fence. The crime scene techs were looking at it with a magnifying glass. Others were walking in and out of a door to a warehouse. The woman walked up to the man in the suit and stuck out her hand.

"Felicia Hardy. Insurance investigator, Corporate and Estates Insurance."

"Detective Mickey McCann. Port Authority PD, Criminal Investigations Bureau." McCann said as she shook his hand.

The two each sized each other up quickly. Felicia saw the department store suit that was once black, but was now faded, the coffee in a Styrofoam cup that she could smell from here, and the Glock inside the shoulder holster that he didn't even bother to hide as his badge hung just on the outside of his jacket. His dirty blonde hair was neat, and his face was clean shaven. Felicia decided that he was a professional, but was entirely focused on being a good cop, and while he might help her, would not go out of his way. McCann saw the black outfit that cost more than one of his paychecks. His gut instinct was that she was just a corporate numbers runner with no street sense, but then the man came to the conclusion that there was no way a numbers lady would take risk and come to a crime scene if she couldn't handle herself. McCann decided there was more than met the eye.

"What have you discovered so far?" Felicia asked.

"There statues stolen from the imports warehouse. They came in yesterday from the middle east, cleared customs, and were supposed to be moved this morning. All in all about $20 Million." McCann said and took a sip of his coffee.

"Not surprised that it was artwork from the Middle East." Felicia said.

"Why's that?"

"The recent destruction of artwork in that portion of the world by terrorists has led to a surge of people buying it. Some are trying to save it from destruction. Others are just taking advantage of the rise in value because of loss of supply and increased demand. That and the more exciting provenance raises the value." She explained as she walked over to the fence.

McCann mentally filed that information away to follow up on later. He walked up to the forensic tech. "What have you got?"

The tech pulled his magnifying glass away and got up from his squatted position to face them. "These guys were clever. The fence wasn't cut. Wire and bolt cutters leave a distinctive pinch mark. The metal isn't melted as well, so they didn't use a cutting torch. The lack of metal shards at the base means they didn't use a saw. If I had to guess, they used liquid N2, that or they just ripped it apart." The tech explained.

"For those of us who only got a C Plus in Chemistry?" asked McCann.

"Liquid Nitrogen." said Felicia. "Cheap method to freeze metal to the point of being brittle enough to break with enough force."

"Where would you get something like that. Commercial chemical companies if you're getting in bulk for a lab or medical building. Commercial hardware stores as well. Oh and specialty cooking shops." She listed.

"Really?" asked McCann.

"Yeah. Some restaurants use it for the cooking with science hipsters and nerds. My boyfriend made ice cream a few weeks ago." Felicia said. She smiled fondly of night that Peter taught her how science could be used in a way she could relate to. That, and the way she used the whipped cream and chocolate sauce later in the evening.

"I think my wife wanted to go to one of those places a little while ago." McCann said slightly annoyed.

"Ohhh. She would have loved that."

"Yeah right. At $80 a plate, I can get a good bottle of scotch and have a hydraulic breakfast, lunch, and dinner." He said. "Let's head over to the warehouse, see what's up there."

The two walked side by side up to the door of the warehouse. The door had been propped open and another evidence marker placed by it. "The door has no signs of forced entry. The guards know they were lock 'cause they were doing their rounds. I figure they picked the lock." McCann said.

"Makes sense." Felicia agreed. The two walked through the doorway.

"How come they didn't use the nitrogen trick on the lock?" McCann asked.

"Well the 'nitrogen trick', as you put it, is most effective when the entire piece is covered, and it allowed to freeze entirely. You could freeze a tank if you had an aquarium full of it. But a door lock is harder because most of it is in the door." She critiqued. "You really just need to freeze the deadbolt, and break that, but if it still in the door frame the door is still closed. With this tumbler lock, it's faster and has less margin of error if you just pick it."

McCann grinned. His assessment that there was more to this woman was correct. "All right. This way."

The two walked into the main aisle where the rest of the crime scene could be viewed. There was a scorch mark on the floor. Three wooden cases were opened. More forensics specialists were taking photos. The manifests were being looked over for their information as well.

"Which one is your's?" asked McCann.

Felicia opened her binder and pulled out a photo of the cat statue. "This one."

McCann looked at the photo. "That box over there." He said pointing a finger and taking another sip of coffee.

Felcicia walked over and looked at the box. It was big enough to hold the statue but there was nothing else to go on. "What have you been able to figure out?" She asked a nearby tech.

"The scorch mark has magnesium residue." The man said, pointing to mark on the floor. "Combine that with the pin in the next aisle and the metal fragments, we are certain they used a flashbang grenade to incapacitate the two guards. Military grade or similar. They got hit without seeing anything."

"What about the box?"

"Nothing. We are assuming it was pried open with a tool because there are no fingerprints, but they could have just been using gloves." The lab tech explained.

McCann walked over to Felicia. "Got everything you need?"

"Almost. What else was stolen?"

McCann shook his head. "Unless it's yours, I can't really give you any more details. Don't want to open myself up to that lawsuit."

Felicia huffed internally. She figured this might happen. She needed an olive branch. "So fill me in on what you can say, if not details. I can look through some of our databases to see if it helps. I'll be sure to pass it on." She said as she handed over a business card so the detective could follow up.

McCann took the card and looked at it for a second before putting it in his suit pocket. "I really hope my wife doesn't find that. The only thing on the manifest that was listed was Iraqi Vase, and Wall Relief Section. Whatever the fuck that it."

"Wall reliefs are images carved into a wall. If the wall is cut into, then it is a low relief or counter relief, if the wall is cut or sanded down so the image is on protruding, it is a high relief." Felicia explained.

"Well you clearly know what your doing." McCann said.

"Thanks. I'll start working things out at my end and I'll let you know how what I find. Do you have a card?"

"Yeah right here." McCann said as he pulled a business card out of his wallet. He then took another drink of coffee and grimaced a little bit. "Ugh."

"How is that stuff?" Felicia asked pointing to the cup.

"Black as sin, bitter as a bad ex, but loaded with caffeine."

"Doesn't seem worth it based off your expression."

McCann smiled. "Well I get it for free at work, so I am getting what I pay for."

Felicia giggled. "I'll get out of your hair, and let you know what I find." She turned to walk away. "Oh, and some free advice. As a woman, I love it when my man puts time and money into me. You should take you wife to one of those cooking places. Just avoid Midtown and Brooklyn to keep the price down.

McCann smiled. "I'll take that under advisement."

Both people left pleased with the others work.

 **AN: Well that Art History class I took in school for that Fine Art credit finally found a use. The detective character is strongly based off of Dennis Leary's character from the Thomas Crown Affair (Wonderful movie, you should all see it). A Hydraulic meal is went you have a meal that entirely consists of alcoholic beverages, for those of you who don't hang out with mechanics too much.**

 **For those of you who haven't heard, Marvel is launching a website to publish your own comics using marvel characters. The problem is the restrictions they placed on using the service. Swearing, double entendres, guns, death, and controversial topics aren't allowed along with killer bees and non-disney theam parks (which I though was oddly specific). So between Felicia's sexual references, somewhat explicit scenes, and the number of guns and death i have written (The Punisher scenes I wrote in particular come to mind), it is safe to say that I won't be using that medium to publish. So you all are stuck with me here until a later date it appears.**


	36. Arc 4, Chapter 5

**AN: And another one up. Celgress, Highlander, NeoTyson, Akira-Hayama, Godspeed, Jakeros, you guys are awesome.**

Chapter 5

Felicia typed away at her keyboard looking over insurance reports from the rest of the island of Manhattan and other major areas. She was doing so in an excited manner. The first thing that she tried to focus on was art theft of greater than average value. The first image that came to her screen sent a shudder down her spine. Mysterio was the last really high-profile art theft in NYC. The memories of that night no longer had any effect on Felicia, but the man's outfit was ghastly her. The other big results were a jewel theft in Dubai, and a armored car robbery at a gallery in Los Angeles. Felicia decided that she need to change the focus of the search.

She decided to look next into art thefts with military style equipment and execution. The first result was a slash and grab from a museum in Chicago. The thief used a tactical knife to cut the canvas of some painting out of their frames and walked off with them. The next result was two guys used an AR-15 style rifle and a shotgun to rob a pawn shop in Miami. The last result was the Dubai heist again. A team of guys rappelled down the side of a building outside their target, and broke in through the glass and made off with the take. Felicia was impressed with the skill, Dubai targets were always tough.

The last variable she looked at was items themselves that were stolen. Felicia looked at other items that were stolen in each of the lefts she had uncovered. Mysterio stole a dark ages manuscript, the armored car in LA had American post-modern paintings, the slash and grab was a European portrait, and the pawn shop robbery was over a Mayan mating totem. The Dubai heist didn't describe the exact jewels that were taken, just labeled the value. Felicia figured that whoever owned what was taken had the money to keep it secret, but it was likely something that was embarrassing, like stolen jewels from the middle east.

Felicia needed more information from that particular heist. She pulled out her phone and hit the call button. The dial tone rang three times before the person on the other end picked up.

"Horizon, this is Peter Parker's lab. Karin speaking." Came the gleeful voice of the AI.

"This is Felicia. Could you put Peter on please?" Felicia asked sweetly. She knew Peter well enough to know that he would probably use the AI for all of the things that frequently slipped his mind, his schedule, dates, meeting times, workflow tasks. The same ways that Tony Stark used JARVIS.

"Unfortunately I am unable to do that. Peter was called into a meeting with Max Modell. Something about a 'PR dumpster fire he just created'." Karin explained.

"Ah well, you have to admit that you are a bit of a hot topic issue." Felicia said.

"No. Not me. Peter started a dumpster fire in the Physical Research Lab." Karin stated. "Though I am concerned why would consider me a 'PR dumpster fire'."

"I'm somewhat concerned that as an AI, you don't understand why you wouldn't." Felicia countered.

Karen remained silent for a moment. "A fair point. Is there a possibility that I may be able to assist you with your request for Peter? He has instructed me to assist you in personal and professional matters."

Felicia sighed. "Not unless you can tell me about a diamond heist that no one seems to know very much about."

"Please provide the known information. I will search for supplementary data." Karin said.

The insurance investigator shrugged her shoulders. Why not try she figured. She gave the date, location, and the item and value of the claim to the computer.

"One moment please." Karin requested.

Elevator music started to play to through the speaker of Felicia cell phone. Felicia pulled the phone away and looked at the screen for a moment with a look of shock. She didn't know weather that was programmed by her boyfriend, or if the computer came up with that. Either way, the sense of humor was unexpected.

"Felicia?" Karin said when she was finished processing.

"Yes. What did you find?"

"The jewels that were stolen were a pair of emeralds that are known as the Cats Emerald Eyes. They were originally in the eye sockets of one of a pair of statues that were known a The Tomb's Guardians. The statues are Egyptian in origin, but were last known to be together in Iran, where they disappeared during the revolution." Karin explained.

Felicia processed the information. The statues were clearly valuable for more than just their materials. They had history attached to them. Separate they were worth millions. Together, vastly more.

"Anything else about the statue that is of note?"

"Legend has is that they were blessed by the gods of Egypt." Karin stated.

"Just for clarification, did the other statue have ruby eyes?"

"Yes they did."

"Who do the police suspect stole the emeralds?"

"Dubai police suspect that the owner is complicit in insurance fraud. INTERPOL and SHIELD suspect that a crew call the Jade Syndicate stole the jewels." Karin answered.

"Those guys. Great." Felicia groaned.

Back in her days as the criminal Black Cat, the Jade Syndicate offered Felicia a job. She was becoming known as one of the best Monkeys in the theft world. The problem she had with them is they were a surprisingly corporate bunch who were into diverse theft. The Jade syndicate just didn't steal priceless art for resale, but guns, drugs, and even performed the odd kidnapping for ransom. Felicia just liked shiny stuff, and didn't want to get into something that would get someone to send a man with a gun after her.

"What can you tell me about any Jade Syndicate goons in Manhattan?" Felicia asked.

"Nothing. The Jade Syndicate operates in a cell format. A local contract broker for the region provides information to individuals in the area to perform heists. The contract broker takes control of the stolen goods and contacts the main cabal of the Syndicate. The main cabal then orchestrates the sale of the merchandise." Karin explained. "All of this insures that there is extremely limited contact between operatives, and even less that would be considered suspicious."

"Well that's just great. So I won't be able to find these guys through criminal association." Felicia muttered.

"How else do you think that you might be able to track the Syndicate operatives?" Karin asked.

"Gonna have to use some people skills." Felicia said.

Felicia rode a taxi to the art gallery. She needed a to meet with a guy who knew the art scene. Who knew people with money, and secrets. More importantly, she needed a guy who would share those secrets with her with the appropriate motivation. She needed to talk to her old boss, Stanley.

Felicia stepped out of the taxi onto the sidewalk. The entryway to the front of the gallery was noticeably lacking in foot traffic. The dead giveaway to the reason why was the sign on the door explaining that the gallery was closed for a private viewing. That didn't bother Felicia though. She was going in there.

Felicia walked through the door to the sight that surprised her the least. A room full of young women oogling the artwork. Stanley stood amongst them, in a tailored tan suit, balding silver hair, and tinted sunglasses. He was chatting up three women who looked to be about a third of his age, making them laugh. Felicia knew that he was trying to charm them to see his personal collection at his apartment.

She took a long exhale, and put on a big smile. "Stanley," she said brightly as she walked up to the conversation. "What do you have going on here?"

"Oh just helping a local sorority chapter with a fine art credit." The aging man said with a big smile.

"Are you young ladies enjoying it?" Felica asked.

"We are." Said the first woman, a blonde with a blue tank top, and blue daisy duke jean shorts that we stylishly ripped.

"Wonderful. I hate to get in the way of education, but I need Stanley's help in stopping an international theft ring." Felicia said. "I'll give him right back. I promise."

"If you promise." The collage girl said.

Felicia took Stanley by the shoulder and led him to a back office. Stanley was looking back the whole time until the door shut.

"Well Felicia, international heist ring. If that was your line to get me away to take up my offer for drinks, it was unneeded. I would have closed the gallery right away to make that happen." He said cheerfully while wiggling his eyebrows.

"Stanley…I just helped you guarantee that at least one of those women would go back to your place to look at your 'rare Da Vinci' sketches." Felica said using fingers as air quotes. "The least you can do is humor me."

"Hey. They exist." Stanley said.

Felicia crossed her arms. "They might, but you might have also made them up as a weak attempt to sleep with me."

"Hey, you're worth lying to." Stanley said "But are you seriously here to ask me about stopping a theft ring."

"Yes. What do you know about the Jade Syndicate?"

Stanley moved around to sit at his desk. "I know that they have been behind a few high-end art thefts. Museums. Private collections. Similar stuff." He explained. "Why?"

"I have reason to believe that they are in Manhattan. Going after a statue set called The Tomb's Guardians. Do you know anyone with a cat statue from the middle east with hollowed out eyes that might have had emeralds in them at one point?" Felicia asked.

Stanley sucked in his lips, and just stared at her.

"Stanley. Crime. Possible injury. Loss of valuable art. Trying to stop." She said sternly.

"I just don't want to reveal who has what in their private collection. You know how this business works. Once someone find out you dealt in criminal trades, your reputation is shot and no one will buy from you, or worse, think you're a fraud" Stanley said.

"Stanley. I'm not looking to have anyone arrested for what they own, only the Syndicate for what they plan to steal." Felicia said. "But if you want those girls out there to think that you're a fraud in love, all I have to do is yell out to stop trying to grab me."

"Seriously?" Stanley groaned.

"Hey. I gave you the easy in, making you look like a part time international crime fighter, and I can take it away." Felicia said with sinister sweetness.

"Fine." Stanley said. He pulled out a pen and paper and wrote down an address in the east village. "Just don't let them know that this was from me."

"Stanley. I'm just going to be giving a tip that maybe the police should surveil the area for thieves." Felicia said nicely. And turned to leave the office.

Felicia dialed her phone outside the gallery waiting for another taxi.

"Peter Parker. How can I help?" He said.

"Hey babe. You up to have a late-night stakeout?"

"Actually…I'm kinda stuck at work." Peter said.

"Why?" She asked smirking.

"Well, my friction activating lubricant made a mess." Peter said with a groan.

"You made a mess with lube?" she asked with a grin. "Hot."

"Not what it's…I didn't… it's for machine parts." Peter explained in a frazzled manner. "Anyway. I made the mess, so Max said I have to clean it up. Can you handle yourself tonight?"

Felicia was a little sad about the matter. She rarely had to deal with situations by herself. And even then, it was just run of the mill thugs with street weapons and the occasional gun. This was the most difficult threat that she had dealt with up at this point by herself. She knew it was safer to go with a partner.

"Don't worry about it. I've got a plan. See you later tonight babe." Felicia said.

"Love you." Peter said and hung up.

Felicia hung up and dialed another number. The phone dialed.

"Hello?" came the voice of Emma Frost.

"Emma, you doing anything tonight?"

 **AN: And we see the return of Stanley. Flirty old bastard. And the White Queen is gonna help the Black Cat, and some...interesting stuff is gonna start to happen.**


	37. Arc 4, Chapter 6

**AN: *opens door slowly. Hello everyone. *Grimm 203 throws tomato. *Noir Valor dodges. Hey! no throwing produce. If your gonna throw something, throw me a party for my triumphant return. I am a busy man with a busy life, and sometimes instead of writing on the weekend, i like to play video games and take naps, because that is what adults just decide to do sometimes.**

 **Okay, jokes over. In all seriousness, thank you all for your patience, especially Grimm 203, based of your review, you really want me to update on a more predictable schedule. Good news, for the next month or so, that is an option for me. I really want to wrap up this arc in that period of time. Anyway, this chapter is shorter than usual to get it out so you all had something to work with.**

Chapter 6

The city had gone dark hours ago. The waning crescent moon has raising higher in the sky. The silver tint at the edge of the moon, gave way to the dark black of night, and grew to the dark gold caused by the light of the city. The first two colors resembled the outfits of two ladies on a rooftop beneath the gold boarder of the night.

Black Cat stood at the edge of the rooftop at night. She gazed through a pair of tinted lenses that attached to her mask. The lenses were originally designed to be able to track Spider-Man when he wore his MK.2 Spider Armor. Over time he made modifications to the lenses to allow them to see a wider spectrum of light and radiation. At this point, the Cat's Eyes (as Peter named them) had similar capabilities to the visor in Spider-Man's MK.3 Armor, to include night, thermal, EM radiation, and video link communication. The only thing that Spider-Mans visor did that Black Cat's didn't was a link to an Avenger's ID Card, and a Augmented Reality display to provide information on the fly.

Behind Black Cat, White Queen leaned against the rooftop access. She was dressed in white boots, white pants, white corset, and white jacket. An imprinted 'X' on the back of her jacket indicated her status as a superhero. Her outfit was the opposite color scheme of Black Cat's but similarly stylish when it came to form fitting, and sex appeal. White Queen checked her well-manicured nails and patiently waited for any kind of update from her leather clad partner.

Black Cat did not have the best view of the address that Stanley had given her, but it did have prime view of the roof that she would use to look case the address that Stanley gave her. She was still annoyed though. Annoyed that nothing had happened yet, annoyed that she couldn't see into the art collection, annoyed that having telepath wasn't being more helpful.

"I sorry, I have a splitting headache right now. It makes it hard enough to focus to use my powers." Emma said defensively.

"What? What are you talking about?" Black Cat asked in a confused state, deactivating the lenses and turning around to look at her partner for the evening.

"You were just think about how annoyed you were that I wasn't helping more." Emma said. "Even with this headache, you still close enough for me to get a clear idea."

"Oh. Well why don't you just do some weird mental thing and make the headache go away?" Black Cat asked.

Emma opened her mouth in mock shock. "Oh wow, why didn't I think of that?" she asked in overstated sarcasm.

Black Cat raised her hands with her palms out defensively. "Okay, I'm sorry. It's just…" she trailed off. Normally Peter would have a whole plan together, based of research, intelligence, and habits he knew from the bad guys. Black Cat didn't have his level of experience in that level of extrapolating information. She though having a Omega level telepathic mutant would fill some of the gaps.

"Sorry, but something is interfering with my telepathy." Emma said as she turned into her crystal form. He entire body became a diamond, enabling her with superhuman durability and strength. The downside was that she couldn't use her mental abilities in this form.

"It's fine. Though I wonder what has the juice to put you on the fritz?" Black Cat asked.

Emma walked up to Black Cat to look over the New York City skyline. "Look at this city. Could be anything. Latent mutant ability, supervillain plotting something evil, dimensional rift leaking alien jamming signal."

"Magic?" Black Cat asked as to provide a supplementary solution.

"Sure. Could be."

Black Cat remembered that Karin mentioned that The Tomb's Guardians were blessed by gods. She wondered if that means they held some kind of magical or divine properties. She filed that information for later.

"I caught from your mind that normally the Spider did the research and analysis for stuff like this."

"Yeah. Could be useful now." Black Cat said wishfully.

"So how would he have done it?"

"Used his brain and a supercomputer to…wait a minute. I know someone!" Black Cat said lighting up.

Emma just looked at her friend with a mixture of curiosity and surprise.

Black Cat pulled out her phone and called Peter's office. The dial tone rang a few times before someone picked up.

"Peter Parkers lab. He's not in right now, but if you leave a message…"

"Karin. It's Felicia." Cat stated.

"Ah. Peter informed me that you would be doing some extra work tonight. He informed me that I am to assist in any way possible." Karin said happily.

"Did he really think that I would need it?" Cat asked concerned.

"No. To quote, she's going after thieves, she's the expert, but if she wants help, give it to her."

Emma overheard the comment. "Ah. That's sweet of him."

"So how may I be of service?" Karin asked.

"I need a floor layout of the building at my 10 o'clock. 18th floor." Cat stated.

"Compiling." Karin said.

The Cat's Eye lenses popped back into place. A 3D model of the inside of the requested location was generated on the right side of Cat's vision. Window, furniture, art pieces, hallways, even lighting was simulated.

"Wow, how did you do that?"

"I compiled information from social media and used a 3D mapping program to generate the model." Karin explained.

"Okay, but I didn't know that my lenses can do the whole Augmented Reality stuff the Spider's can do. He said it was a limitation due to their size." Cat questioned.

"He is correct, but I am streaming a simulation of the program over your video link. It's not real time, but it's close enough." Karin said.

Emma was no longer eavesdropping. Instead she was looking at three figures on the rooftop that they were watching. They were covered in the shadow of a water tower and were fiddling with something in the biggest man's backpack. "Cat. We might have something." She stated.

"Well, well, well. What do you guys have planned?" Cat mused.

The three men pulled out a long object for each of them. And aimed them at the building with the second cat statue. Black Cat and White Queen couldn't tell what they were about to do, but they could guess. Wither they were grapple guns, and they were about to break in, or they were rifles, and the two just stumbled across an assassination. They women started to moved. The three men fired, and three black lines shot across the distance to the target roof.

"Karin, let the police know, there are three people breaking into a building at my location." Cat said.

"Confirmed. Estimated response time, 13 minutes, 43 seconds." Karin said.

"Seriously?" The Queen asked confused.

"Ha, that's actually better than average for this city for a simple theft." Cat said as she aimed her wrist to fire her grapple. The men across the way started to swing over to the ritzy building with their destination.

"So it's all on us?" Emma asked as she pulled out her own X-Men version of a grapple gun.

"Well, if the bad guys start shooting, the police might get here in under 10 minutes." Cat said as she swung of the ledge.

"Ugh, I miss upstate." Emma said as she swung off.

 **AN: Thanks to Celgress, Highlander, KingPlotBunny, Grimm 203, NeoTyson, and Akira-Hayama for your reviews and enthusiasm.**


	38. Arc 4, Chapter 7

**AN: It was actually kind of a good thing that I made the last chapter shorter, because if it had been with this chapter as originally planned, it would have been much longer than usual. Anyway, this chapter sets up some stuff that some people have been asking for since the first arc. Read and find out what I'm talking about. Oh, and in other news, I crossed 200 reviews, just under 250 follows and favorites, and have over 75,000 total views. Thanks to everyone.**

Chapter 7

Hangman climbed through the hole in the window made by his team. The rifles they carried used compressed nitrogen to fire a closed grapple across the distance between the two buildings. The cable connected to the grapple was actually an insulated wire that allowed the operator to open the hooks on the grapple, and lock or spool the wire. Once the team was anchored on the outside of the wall, Dragon used a glass hammer to shatter the window, and the team entered.

"Get to the Cat." Hangman ordered. "Signal, how much time do we have?" he asked into his radio.

"The silent alarm is on, but the police won't be there for at least twelve minutes. Plenty of time." Signal said calmly.

"Perfect."

Dragon was over by a glass case with another cat statue inside it's housing. The smaller Asian man had a screwdriver, a voltmeter, and a pair of wire cutters and strippers in is hands and was kneeled down working at a small electric keypad on the lower portion of the case. Hefty stood behind him looking over his shoulder.

Hangman paced around, looking out for anything out of the ordinary. So far it was all going according to plan, but this was a critical juncture. Signal found out that the police were investigating them as well as an insurance agency. The heat was on, and though the final cat they were steeling was in a private collection, unconnected to their Dubai jewel heist, and unlisted from insurance, if authorities put the picture together, they could be looking at a sting at this precise moment.

Hangman heard a _whizz_ and a soft _thump_. He turned back to the window they came through and saw two individuals he didn't expect to see and was certainly unhappy that were there. He immediately recognized Black Cat and the White Queen. The former burglar, and former Hellfire club member were not the type of women to always follow the rules, and certainly had the knowledge from their former criminal activities to figure out the Jade Syndicate connection between he thefts, and about the private collection with the cat.

This was bad news for the Jade Syndicate operatives. The Syndicate had information on as many super humans that they could, just in case of an event like this, but normally they expected an individual of average ability relative to other super humans. One of the world's most powerful mutants and one of the worlds best thieves was a very difficult situation to overcome.

* * *

Black Cat looked at the three guys in tactical gear before her. Vests full of high grade military or corporate equipment, balaclavas to conceal identity, quick entry into a location with no one else inside. The guys with the gun was probably the Metal Man, the smaller dude was the Monkey, the big guy was possible muscle, but based of the toolbag he had with him, could also be a wheelman. These guys were pros, and if they were as good as Black cat though, they probably had a plan for meeting people like her and Emma.

"Look Cat, they're dressed like you." Emma stated playfully.

"Oh please. Black tactical gear is so cliché in the heist game." Black Cat said. "I am much more fashionable."

The guy with the gun just looked at them for a second. "Would it be too much to hope that you two are turning back to your former lifestyle?" he asked as though it was an impossibility.

"Nope. We're here to stop you." Black Cat stated proudly.

"Okay then. Dragon, take the girl in black, Hefty, just break the glass." The metal man said as he pulled out his gun and changed out magazines.

The smaller guy quickly turned around and sprinted at Black Cat before launching a front kick at her. Cat dodged but the small man then used a spin kick to force her back even further. The big guy at the case pulled a hammer out of his tool bag and just started wailing at the glass.

"Emma, you gonna do some mental stuff here?" Cat asked as she retracted her claws and started to swipe at the guys she was fighting.

Emma smiled and brought down her crystal defense. She started to reach out with her mind a was stopped for a second. A piercing pain penetrated her skull and she screamed in a manner that could wake the dead. Everyone stopped for a second and just stared as she transformed into her crystal body. Everyone was still looking at her as she stood up.

"There is something up here." White Queen stated.

"No shit." The man with the gun said. He aimed at Emma and pulled the trigger. The bullets were far more powerful than normal. Not only did the bullets hurt like hell, but they actually caused her skin to crack.

"What in the hell?" Emma asked out loud.

"High pressure powder with depleted uranium rounds." The man said. "Sure to make an impact."

While the White Queen started to throw fists at the gunman, Black Cat started to fight the man in front of her. The guy was fast, trained and was the endurance to keep attacking, putting her on a constant defense. Meanwhile the guy with the hammer just kept hitting the glass. The two groups were solely focused on stopping the other.

The big guy hit the glass with one last smash, and the glass gave way. "I'm in!" he shouted.

The gunman, who had been shooting at Emma fired two rounds at close range at her head. The impact did what Black Cat though was impossible and knocked Emma out. "O2 in, N out he shouted."

"Queen!" In her moment of concern, the small man performed a high kick to her jaw, knocking Black cat to the ground, seeing stars.

The Jade Syndicate members pulled more oxygen canisters out of their vests and started to breath into them. The man with the gun pulled another canister and opened a valve. Black Cat started to get lightheaded shortly afterward.

* * *

Hangman dropped the Nitrogen canister grenade, a specialty weapon developed by his old employers at Hydra. Simple science really, the nitrogen displaced the oxygen in the air making it hard to breath, eventually causing people to lose consciousness. When it came to most super humans, most of them still needed air. Those that didn't were either cosmic beings like the Silver Surfer, robots, or gods. Either way in those cases you stopped what you were doing and just ran away. They got lucky this time, but it was time to get going.

Hangman used a hand signal to get the cat in the bag and get out. Dragon ran over to the window, grabbed his grapple gun and started to rappel down the outside of the building, just in time for sirens to be heard in the distance. Hefty put the statue in a black duffle with newspaper for padding and started to move over to the window for their exit. As Hefty walked, Black Cat pulled a bolo out of her belt and wrapped up his legs.

As hangman saw it happen, he saw the leather wearing hero pass out. No longer able to stop their escape, Hangman ran over to his ally annoyed. He couldn't carry both the statue and Hefty, but the choice was easy. Carry his partner. They could always get the cat statue again, either at the evidence locker, or on route to it, but if Hefty was arrested, then it could blow everything. Hangman put Hefty on his shoulder and walked over to the window.

'Be seeing you around.' He though to himself as he jumped out the window.

* * *

Felicia was in a place that she did not recognize. It was night out, in some kind of oasis. There was a pool of water surrounded by the softest grass she had ever felt. Beyond that, palm trees were spaces evenly though the grass, the sand beyond appeared grey in the moon and starlight. Felicia was dressed in a plain white toga, and sandals. A woman sat on a marble bench by a few torches next to the water's edge. A black cat sat with her on the bench.

Felicia walked up to her totally confused. "Umm, hi excuse me. Could you help me?" she asked.

The woman turned and smiled. "Of course. Come sit." She said motioning to the spot beside her on the bench that was occupied by the cat. The cat meowed in annoyance as it moved out of the way. "Oh hush."

"Thank you." Felicia sat down and looked at the woman. She was certainly attractive. Long black hair, flawless olive skin, large brown eyes. She was dressed in a flattering red dress and wore blue and gold necklaces and bracelets. She had a large smile that was inviting and friendly. Felicia felt much more calm than she felt she should be.

"I'm Felicia." She opened with.

"It's a pleasure to me you Felicia. I'm Hathor, and my feline friend is Bastet." The woman introduced as she scratched the cat. "How can I help?"

"Well…" Felicia said looking around. "Where am I?"

"Well that seems like good place to start as any." Hathor commented. "This is a meeting place so to speak. I and others use it to communicate with mortals."

"Wait…so you're a go…"

"A Goddess yes, Egyptian. So is Bastet here, but she prefers this form." Hathor explained.

The cat meowed again.

"Are Emma and I okay?" Felicia asked.

"Yes, you and the shaman are perfectly fine." Hathor said with a smile. "I'm sorry about the headaches she got. Sometimes a shamans first encounter with a god can be painful."

Felicia was a little confused by that comment of Emma being a shaman. "She's not a shaman, she a telepath.

"Ah, well that may be, but in ancient Egypt, she would have been called a Shaman." Hathor explained kindly. From nowhere he produced to goblet and a skin of wine. "Would you like some?"

"Thanks." Felicia said a little nervously taking the glass. She took a sip and smirked in appreciation. "So what are you a goddess of? Just trying to get a feel for why I'm here."

"I am a goddess of many things. Womanhood, miners, fertility. The long and short of it is that I help with the bringing of people into the world, keeping some safe, and sometimes helping them with their passing, though that is Bastet's area mostly." Hathor explained as she took a sip from her own goblet.

"So why are we talking? I can't think of any reason why I would get such attention."

Hathor laughed. "Well you are trying to get our artifacts back into the proper hands of our faithful. That warrants a conversation." Bastet started to purr as she pet her.

"Trying and failing." Felicia muttered, disappointed in herself.

"Smallest of noble deeds means more than the grandest intention." The goddess said reassuringly. "Don't worry, we're going to help you out a little."

Bastet left Hathor's lap as she pulled off one of the gold necklaces from around her. She reached over and put it on Felicia. "There. Not really your color, but hopefully you'll like it." She said.

"Thank you, but…a…what's it do?" Felicia asked. She didn't know if this was real, or if this was a dream caused by passing out.

"Helps tip the scales in life to your favor." Hathor explained with a smile.

Felicia just stared at the woman with wide eyes, hoping for more of an explanation.

"Don't worry. You'll get it soon enough." Hathor laughed.

* * *

Felicia woke up. He head was hazing, vison was a little blurry. Emma was also getting up slowly, breathing heavily.

"Felicia!" Came the voice of Karin in her ear.

"Yes, I'm up. What the situation?"

"Police are closing in rapidly. I suggest that you and Ms. Frost leave the building as soon as physically possible. You won't be able to catch the Jade Syndicate in jail." Karin said.

"No duh. Emma. We gotta go!"

Emma nodded in understanding as she walked over to Black Cat and followed her out the window.

Seconds later police burst through the door, Det. Mickey McCann in the back. He had gotten a tip from someone named Karin, who claimed to work insurance lady from before, that the people who hit the dock might hit this private art collection. Looking around he saw broken glass, spent shell casings, a silver object that looked like a tear gas grenade, and a duffle bag with another cat statue in it.

"What the hell happened here?" he asked himself out loud.

 **AN: That's right, not super soldier serum, not science stuff, not mutant abilities, I'm giving Black Cat her powers using Gods and Magic. Why? Cause it's my alternate universe and I'll do what I damn well feel like with it. *walks away from computer giving the middle finger to anyone who doesn't like it.**


End file.
